A Forgotten Lifetime
by Siriuslover4eva
Summary: After spending almost three weeks with the Dursley's, how is Harry holding up after the death of his Godfather? This is the summer before Harry's 6th year at Hogwarts. Voldemort is causing trouble, and old friends return.
1. In the Beginning

1Chapter 1

Harry sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. He looked up at the now darkening sky and looked around the playground that Harry was currently inhabiting. Harry was an unusual boy for many reasons, but mostly for the fact that he had always hated the summer holidays more than any other time of the year. But he hated this dreaded holiday season more than ever. His godfather, Sirius Black had been killed at the Department of Mysteries at the end of Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts. He knew that it was his fault that Sirius had been killed because of his 'love for playing the hero'.

Because of the guilt that he carried around with him, he hadn't eaten very much, and as a result, he had become very skinny, as well as trying to stay awake until he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore. When he did doze off, his sleep had been interrupted by dreams of Sirius falling through the veil and what happened in the Department of Mysteries Harry had thought Sirius had been captured and tortured by Lord Voldemort and thus, had been foolish enough to try to rescue him. Because of this, Sirius had tried to come to his rescue and he had fallen through the veil after Bellatrix Lestrange's curse had pushed him through.

Harry got up out of the swing and walking the streets of Little Whinging. He had taken to traveling the streets, day and night. It was something to do get his mind off things. When he wasn't strolling around Privet Drive he was in his room, trying to get some work done. He was also trying not to think about when he would have to go back to Grimmald Place, which was Sirius's house and headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry had walked around the block so many times he had lost count. So he decided to go inside and try and get some work done for his classes. He walked back towards the house knowing his every move was being watched, even at night. He understood why the protection was needed, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

He walked inside the house, passing his uncle on the way, and walked up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door and walked over to his desk, deciding to get some homework done for his classes.

Getting out his potions book, he got to work on his 2-foot long essay on Felix Felicis for his most hated professor, Professor Snape. He looked in the index and found the potion and started reading. But he didn't get very far when he heard his uncle calling from downstairs. He sighed, wishing that things were different. He looked up at his calendar that he made to mark off the days until he would go back to Hogwarts. He was only 2 weeks into summer vacation. He sighed again as his uncle yelled again, "Potter! Get down here!"

He put his parchment inside his book and went downstairs. He tried to figure out what had gotten his uncle in such a mood. He looked at the clock near the stairs: it was dinnertime. Harry sighed once again, knowing he would be fixing their dinner, and he would force down only a small amount of food. Harry walked into the kitchen where his aunt, uncle, and cousin were all standing. "Yes, Uncle Vernon," he said, in a monotone voice.

"You are going to cook tonight, we gave you a night off last night. Cook the chicken and rice. Don't burn anything," his uncle said. He walked out before Harry could answer. His aunt was close to follow him.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," he said to no one. He walked over to the stove and started to prepare the food. Harry thought he heard the back door open so he looked and saw that the door was indeed open and that Dudley was walking towards the park. "Stupid git," he said softly, closing the door.

He walked back over to the stove and started cooking. He didn't mind the cooking, it gave him something to do, and his mind was closed to everything except for the task in front of him.

When the food was done, he set the table and put the food out. He walked into the next room and told his aunt and uncle that the food was ready. He went back into the kitchen and took a piece of chicken, though a small one, and walked back upstairs. Before he got all the way up, his uncle yelled up to him, "Did you send your letter to 'those people' today?"

Harry sighed for the millionth-and-one time. "Yes, Uncle Vernon," came that same monotone reply. Then he walked upstairs eating his small piece of chicken. He thought he heard the stair creek behind him, and he spun around looking. He saw nothing. Harry shook his head, he was getting paranoid. "Moody would be proud," he said quietly. He rolled his eyes and walked back up the stairs. He went into his room and put the rest of his uneaten chicken into the garbage. He already felt full from eating what he had, subconsciously he knew that wasn't good, but he didn't care. He had too much on his mind right now.

Harry had been at his aunt and uncle's house for two weeks and 2 days now, and he had a few letters from his friends saying that he would be away from Privet Drive as soon as possible and that they would see him soon. Harry had been putting on a false cheery tone when he wrote them and told them he was fine. He had some letters from Remus Lupin, his ex-professor, asking how he was and if he needed anything to just to let him know and he would try and help.

Harry looked up at the sky; the stars were bright tonight. He turned around and looked at his door, he hadn't closed it, so he walked over and shut it. He walked over to his closet and started getting ready for bed. Before lying down he looked at Hedwig's cage, which was empty. He wished that she was back. After all, she was the only creature in the house that could tolerate him.

Harry was now lying in bed trying hard not to fall asleep by reading his potions book but it proved to be the wrong thing to read. He looked at the clock, it said 2:25am. He had to try to stay awake but he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore, and just before he drifted off he whispered, "I'm sorry, Sirius", and that was when the dreams began:

_The order was fighting Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, and Sirius was fighting Bellatrix and dodging her curses while he was throwing his own. She threw a stunner at him and he dodged it, saying, "Come on, you can do better than that!" Then she hit him with another spell, and he fell through the veil. And just like that he was gone. Harry screamed, "Sirius! Sirius!" but when he didn't return he realized he was gone._

Harry woke with a start, realizing he was wet with sweat and he had tears running down his face. He took a few deep breaths and knew sleep would not come again, so he propped himself up and laid there thinking about Sirius. About how in his third year, he had thought Sirius a traitor, and then he had found that Sirius wasn't the traitor but it was in fact Wormtail, his parents other best friend. Sirius heard what Wormtail had done and went to find Wormtail and kill him for what he had done. He had found Wormtail and he tried to kill him, but not before Wormtail had sent a spell that killed anyone within the area behind him and, scurrying off with the other rats, Sirius had been blamed and sent to Azkaban. But Harry had saved Peter's life, and with that Sirius would be free. Sirius had offered him a home once his name was cleared since he was Harry's godfather. Harry had accepted, but before they could turn Wormtail into the authorities he had escaped. So Sirius had to flee for his life.

Harry had always dreamed about the home that he could have had, but now it would never happen. He felt such a surge of hatred towards Wormtail, but then he shut it out. He had to keep his emotions under control, knowing that if he didn't, he would be giving Voldemort a chance at his mind, again, so he controlled his thoughts by putting up his barrier, however untrained and possibly weak, that Occlumency provided.

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It was morning when he heard a knock on the door. "What do you want," he said dully.

A familiar laugh met his ears. "What a nice way to great an old friend," it said. "Can I come in, Harry?"

"Remus?" he asked.

"Who did you expect, Crookshanks?"

"No, come in," he said, in what he hoped was a cheery voice, and stood up.

The door opened and in stepped his smiling ex-Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. "How are you Har-" He stopped in mid sentence, looking Harry up and down with an expression of worry.

"Something wrong?"

"I would think that something's wrong Harry. You look like skin and bones. When was the last time you ate something?" Remus asked in a concerned voice.

Harry shrugged and made his excuse, "I haven't been hungry, I guess."

Lupin sighed. He knew what Harry was going though but he had hoped... "I knew you'd be feeling guilty but I never thought you would do this."

"I'm fine, Remus." he lied.

Lupin studied him before finally replying, "You aren't fine Harry. You haven't eaten a decent meal in three weeks, you've hardly slept, and you've been tearing yourself up with guilt, am I right?"

"Maybe." Harry mumbled, guiltily.

Remus sighed again and said, "Just seeing you makes me want some of Molly's cooking; you're so thin."

"OK, I guess I have gone a little bit over board on the guilt trip, but I can't help it. It's all my fault that Sirius is...that he's gone," Harry cried out. His eyes watering, he quickly dropped his gaze, but just as quickly, he pulled himself together...he didn't want Remus to see him like this.

Remus pushed his chin up so that Harry was looking at him. "No Harry, it isn't your fault. Sirius is..." he stopped and sighed, choosing his words carefully. "Don't say that, Harry. Sirius wouldn't want you to suffer. Look, how would you like to get out of here tomorrow?" he asked, trying to get Harry on another topic of discussion.

"Sure, that would be...," he stopped just realizing. "Wait, where...where would we be going?"

Remus looked at him, not understanding the young man's sudden confusion. "Grimmuald Place, why?"

Harry shook his head. "I can't go back there Remus. You of all people should understand that. I can't go back there, not yet. It's not that I don't want to...I just...I can't do it Remus."

Remus nodded his understanding. "Yes, I understand. I felt the same way after...but after being back there, it's not that bad, once you get used to being there. But if you'd rather stay here than see Ron and Hermione, that's up to you. I must tell you that they are very worried about you though, Ginny too. They don't get much out of you're letters, not that you gave them anything. It was always a false cheery tone, that they didn't believe for a minute anyway, and always the same thing...'I'm fine, don't worry about me. The muggles are treating me good,' and all that rubbish."

Harry thought for a moment, then gave in. "OK Remus, I'll go. But I'll go in on my own time. I'll have the invisibility cloak so I can take my time without anyone seeing me and until I'm ready, I'm not going to go in. Deal?"

Remus nodded. "Deal. Now, how about some food and some sleep? You look like you could use some sandwiches. Molly made some so I could bring them to you; she doesn't trust these muggles." He brought out a tray of sandwiches.

Harry grinned, realizing that he was hungry after all, and started to grab as many sandwiches as his mouth would allow him to eat. He didn't notice Remus smiling at him and watching him.

"Harry, do you still have that mirror? The one Sirius gave you?"

Harry looked up frowning and swallowed. "Yes, do you need it?" he asked apprehensively.

Remus smiled and misunderstanding Harry's worried tone said, "Yes, but when I'm done you'll get it back."

Harry got up and went to his trunk and fished out the mirror, still wrapped in the brown wrapping from when he had thrown it into the bottom of his trunk, and gave it to Remus, who looked at it and smiled. "Thank you Harry, I'll be right back." Remus stepped out and said quietly, "Reparo." Then the sound of paper being taken off was heard as Remus went downstairs.

Harry watched him leave and noticed that Remus had realized that he had broken the mirror and he didn't have to tell him. Smiling, he went right back to eating, not noticing Remus walking into the room, putting the mirror on the dresser.

"How about you get some sleep, and when you wake up, I'll have some surprises for you," he said with a smile.

"That sounds great, but...I'm afraid to sleep, Remus. I'm afraid that someone will get hurt, but I've been trying hard all summer to practice Occlumency," he yawned, closing his eyes. "But, I guess it couldn't hurt for a few minutes," and with that he drifted off to sleep, not knowing that Remus was watching him sadly. "G'night, Remus," he said quietly as sleep overtook him.

"Good night, Harry."

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Harry woke up to a dark room. It took him a few minutes to register the fact that he just had the best sleep since Sirius's death. He then remembered that Remus was there. "Remus?" he whispered.

"Yes, Harry," he said after a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just had the best sleep since...well since Sirius..."

"I understand. I'm glad you slept well, Harry," said Remus.

"So...what about those surprises you said you had for me?" Harry asked

Remus laughed. "I'm sorry but you're going to have to wait, Harry. It's no use to tell you now seeing as how it's almost two o'clock in the morning." Harry just stared at him with his mouth open.

"What, you just said it was the best sleep you've had in 3 weeks. Well, you slept through the day, and almost all night. I was wondering when you would get up."

"Remus, did I wake you up, were you just asleep?" he asked. "I'm sorry, I thought it was weird that it was dark, I just thought-"

"Harry it's ok, I'm a light sleeper, and I wake up easily and go back to sleep just as easily. Don't worry, why don't you get some more shut eye and we'll talk in the morning?"

Harry looked at the shadow of his friend. "OK, I'll try, and if I'm not up by nine, wake me up please, because I feel that I could sleep my summer away."

He heard the light smile in Remus's voice. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to let you sleep in anyways. I'll see you in the morning...I hope," he added in a whisper, but loud enough for Harry to hear.

He laughed. "I'm sorry for waking you, see you in the morning," and with that he fell into another deep sleep.

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As Remus got up, he stretched, and looking at the clock, _8:58, _he thought, _I might as well get him up._ He bent down towards Harry's ear, smiling, almost sorry he had to wake him.

"HEY HARRY, GET UP!!" he screamed into his ear, and moved back so that he wouldn't get clobbered with Harry's fist. Just as predicted, Harry bolted upright and looked around and swatted at the air where his old friend had just been. "Morning, Sunshine."

Harry grumbled as he fell back into bed. "Wake me in a few hours, Ron." Remus grinned.

"Hey sleeping beauty, you said to get you up at nine, so here is your wake-up call." Remus said.

Harry turned in his bed to look at his old professor, who was grinning sheepishly. "Where did you learn that screaming into someone's ear was considered a wake-up call? Ever heard of poking and speaking quietly into one's ear to wake someone up?" he asked sleepily.

Remus grinned at him. "You forget, I grew up with James and Sirius, so when you ask for a wake up call, you get the works. Be glad screaming in your ear was the only thing you got. Besides, you looked out like a lightbulb, so I doubt that poking and prodding you would have helped at all. Don't you want to know the surprises?"

Harry was suddenly wide-awake. "Yes, what are they?"

Remus smiled. "Well, now that you're awake, I can give this to you," as he handed Harry a piece of parchment. "It explains that you can learn to apparate even though you aren't 17 years old. Since we need to know that you can travel long distances when in an emergency, Dumbledore got permission."

Harry finished reading the paper hurriedly. "Really? Great! Wait till I tell Ron and Hermione! They are going to go nuts when they find out I can apparate and they can't," he said with a smile.

Remus laughed and continued, "Well, I'm glad that you're happy, but they're being allowed to as well, seeing as how they are always with you."

Harry smiled even bigger. "This is great, I'm going to learn to apparate. Who's going to be teaching us?" he asked.

"I am." Remus said with a smile.

"YES!!!" Harry yelled, jumping out of bed.

"Harry...Harry...HARRY!!" Remus yelled, finally getting his attention. He stopped bouncing about the room.

"What? I'm just so excited, Remus." he said.

"Well, I'm glad you're excited. Don't you want to know what the other surprise is?" Remus asked suddenly, looking as if he were going to explode with joy if he didn't get it out soon.

"Yeah, what is it? Harry asked, his excitement bubbling out.

Remus smiled wider. "Close your eyes." he said. Harry quickly obliged, and when he closed his eyes he heard Remus say a quiet spell and felt something cover his eyes. He felt Remus press something into his hands and he felt a jerk behind his navel. '_A portkey!_'' he thought. He felt Remus bump along with him. He couldn't open his eyes so he couldn't see anything when he landed hard on a stone floor.

"Ow! Remus, I hate portkeys enough without not being able to see where I land," he yelled. He heard Remus stifle a laugh. "Where are you, Remus?" he called, getting to his feet, feeling around blindly for him. "This is a _really_ bad surprise! When you want to give me another surprise, don't do this! Give it to me in a box or something," he grumbled slightly. Remus couldn't contain himself any longer; and he erupted into fits of laughter.

"Just say put, I'll be right back," Remus said, after he got control of himself, and Harry heard his footsteps leave the room and start to fade.

"Remus! Come back here! Take this stupid blindfold off so I can see!" he yelled, but when no one answered, he sighed as he sat down. "Oh well, might as well get comfy, knowing Remus he could leave me for hours..." he stopped, thinking that maybe this was Voldemort's plan. "Shit." he whispered.

"Watch your mouth, young man." he heard Remus say with a smile in his voice.

"Remus, is this a trap? Am I in Voldemort's Headquarters and he's waiting to kill me?" he asked with a slightly concerned tone, then he heard Remus laugh.

"No, Harry, it's not a trap. Brace yourself, I'm going to take off the blindfold now and you are going to get quite a shock," he said, laying his wand on the boy's face. Harry nodded, and suddenly felt the material leave his eyes. He braced himself and slowly opened his eyes, to get used to the light. When his eyes were open enough to see the person in the room his flung his eyes open and gasped. There stood, alive and well, his godfather, Sirius Black. He was standing there beaming at him. Harry noticed they were in the drawing room of Grimmald Place. Harry stood up; tears welled up in his eyes. Sirius started walking toward him, but before he could take two steps, Harry bolted.

He ran down the stairs, not noticing where he was going or that Sirius and Remus were calling after him. He ran through the kitchen, which had several people in it. He didn't notice Mr. and Ms. Weasley get up to greet him before he was out the room. He ran down the hallway and when he got to the door, he wrenched it open and ran full out, not realizing he had no idea where he was going or where the roads led. '_How could Remus pull a trick like that on me? He knows how much I miss Sirius, why would he spring it on me like that?_'' he asked himself.

He ran until he couldn't run anymore, and finally stopped on the side of the road; where, he had no idea. He sat down and tried to stop the tears, not being very successful. He didn't even hear the sound of paws on the ground, nor did he notice a huge shaggy, black dog had neared him until he heard a whine. Harry looked up to find Padfoot standing a few yards away looking at him with big sad, worry filled eyes. Harry stopped trying to stop the tears, seeing as how he knew that it seemed as if they would never end, and stood up. Sirius started to move, as if trying to block him from running.

Harry did run: right at Sirius.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the dog, which bounded forward. He fell to the ground hugging the shaggy dog's neck. He didn't hear Remus come up, nor did he notice that he had apparated them back to the drawing room. He just sat there crying openly with Sirius in his arms. He couldn't believe it. Sirius was here! He was alive! One question ran through his mind, _'How?'_ He didn't feel shaggy hair anymore, he felt the neck of his godfather, his arms around his waist, both clinging to each other for dear life, as if they let go, they would loose the other forever.

Sirius sat there making circular motions on his godson's back. Harry's crying started to stop, both smiling as they hadn't in a long time. Remus coughed, and they both opened their eyes and pulled back. They both laughed as they each saw tears staining their faces. Harry started to get up, when he collapsed. Sirius caught him. "It's ok, Harry. You ran a long ways," he said, picking him up and putting him on his bed.

Harry looked up at Sirius, thinking how great it was to hear the voice that had been plauging his dreams for the past few weeks. Harry stared at Sirius and voiced what he had been thinking since he saw him. "How?" he said roughly. Remus gave him a glass of water, Harry smiled appreciatively.

Sirius looked at Remus. "Well, we're not really sure, Harry. Dumbledore is trying to find that out now. What I do remember is falling through the veil after Bellatrix hit me with that curse and then I was in a dark room. I heard voices, very familiar voices I might add. When I turned towards the voices, I saw them...Lily and James." Harry gasped. "Yeah, I know. That's exactly how I reacted. I wanted to run, just as you did, but I couldn't move. Then they said that they missed me and you and everyone but that I couldn't be with them yet. James even made a joke out of it, telling me that they didn't want me there anyways. But, then I remembered...you. I told them I had to get back to you and Remus. I couldn't leave you. They said that I would but they gave me a message to give you, Harry."

"What is it?" Harry asked him. He didn't realize that his eyes were starting to fill with tears, just as Sirius's were.

"They wanted me to tell you how proud they were of you, and that you will do just fine when you go to fulfill the prophecy. They just ask, that you make sure that you're ready and not just to do it because of anything that happened at that moment," Sirius paused and smiled. "James also wanted me to ask you if you've noticed a certain red head in your house yet," he said with a snicker. As Harry's eyes grew round and his face steadily turned a bright red, he gulped. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and then the laughter that had built up exploded, and they broke down and laughed at the look on Harry's face. Harry looked totally and completely embarrassed. '_Here I am, totally embarrassed, and they decide to laugh hysterically and roll around on the floor.'_ he thought. As he watched his godfather and his best friend laughing on the floor, he chuckled. The chuckle turned into a laugh, and the laugh then turned into hysteria. They would gather themselves and take one look at each other and they would go at it again. No one noticed a white bearded man walk in, smile at the scene, and leave, chuckling.

They finally gathered themselves enough and Harry just got up and walked to the two men on the floor and smiling, he bent down and drew them both into a hug. He didn't want to let go of these two who had become very good friends, for adults anyways. Harry let go and gave them each an individual hug, Remus chuckled softly as he hugged Sirius. Harry never wanted to let go of him, for fear it might just be a dream and he would loose him forever. He pulled back and asked, "Is this a dream?"

Sirius looked into his godson's eyes, and saw the worry, but he also saw relief, happiness, sadness, along with love. He knew Harry felt guilty, and he knew that he must be mad at Dumbledore, but that would have to wait until later, when Harry would be able to deal with it. Right now it looked like he could drop dead from malnutrition as well as his overtaxed emotions. "No, Harry. And I will never leave you again. You don't have to worry," he promised. But he then saw anger present in the young man's eyes.

Harry was upset. "You can't promise something like that. Voldemort could kill you in a second if he wanted to. No one is safe, especially if they are close to me. Anyone who is close to me is going to die if I don't do something. Sirius, you don't understand: He will kill anyone I love. He killed you, even though you're back, he killed Cedric, and my parents, just to get at me. He doesn't care who he kills as long as he gets me in the end!" he ended up yelling, and he left the drawing room. He ran up to his old room, and locked the door. He stared at the room, his eyes filling with tears, then he slid down the door and cried.

Sirius and Remus were outside his door, listening, and heard him slide down the door and start to sob. They looked at each other, knowing that they couldn't go into the room. They went into the kitchen, where they saw a smiling Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. The smiles didn't last for long, however, when they saw the look Sirius and Remus wore. "What happened?" Dumbledore asked.

Sirius spoke up, "He asked if it was a dream, and I told him that I would never leave him again and he got upset and left. Remus and I followed him. He's scared that I will leave again, not to mention everyone else might die," he said. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, I'm not surprised at that. He was very upset when you 'died', and he felt responsible. He knows what could happen, he knows the prophesy. He's worried that the ones that he calls his friends and family will die because of him. He puts too much pressure on himself to do everything." Dumbledore said.

Sirius sighed. "I just wish there was some way to help him; he took my death pretty hard, and he looks like he could drop dead if something else happens. Albus, I need to be with him," he begged.

Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, you will have the rest of the summer."

Sirius sighed, "No, not just the summer. During school as well. I could go as a dog if I had to, and stay in Harry's dorm. Please, Albus. I can't leave him again," he pleaded. Dumbledore looked in Sirius's eyes; he saw pleading as well as love for his godson, and he didn't want to leave him.

Dumbledore sighed, "I'm sorry, Sirius, but..."

"Albus please, I'm begging you. I'm not above begging for my godson."

Albus saw the determination in his eyes, after a minute of looking at the pleading eyes of Sirius Black he said, "Well, I have a proposition for you," he said, then turned to Remus.

"Remus, I am in need a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher again. I'm afraid the curse is still active, no one wants the job."

Remus smiled. "Are you asking me to come back and teach?" he asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I am asking just that. Would you like to come back to Hogwarts, Remus?" he asked.

Remus smiled wider. "Yes, of course I would. But, what about..."

"Don't worry about that, we will take all necessary precautions, and I'm sure that no one will turn a head about having you back," Dumbledore told him.

Not really convinced, but wanting to go back to Hogwarts, he agreed. "Alright, I'll go back to work for you."

Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Sirius, who was still pleading with his eyes for his godson. "Well then, I have a proposition for you, since Remus will be teaching this year, we will need a second teacher to cover for the full moons." Sirius looked shocked, then started to smile.

"So, if you would like to keep close to Harry, you could come and teach with Remus."

Sirius's smile was as wide as his mouth would go. "Of course, you would need to be in disguise, and have a new name, but that could be dealt with later," he paused. "Why don't you go back upstairs and see Harry, I'm sure he can't wait to hear about this," he said knowingly. He looked pointedly at the door and back at Sirius and Remus. They got the message: Harry was outside the door.

They smiled at each other. "Just like us when we were young," Sirius whispered. They started towards the door. "Thank you, Albus. I appreciate it."

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Hey All! I hope you are enjoying this back to the past thing I have going on here! I just wanted to say THANK YOU to the only two people who reviewed for my last chapter; truefairy lights and hpboolover127, I thank you very much for your reviews! PLEASE review, I really enjoy reading them, and seeing what you think about the chapter! The next update should be either next weekend, before I go to camp on Sunday, or this time next week, depends on how my other story is going, and if I get to write another chapter. So please review, and I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!!

-Jen


	2. How Dare you Dumbledore!

Chapter 2

Harry slid down the door, and cried, '_Why does everyone I love have to die?'_ he asked himself. After a minute, he realized that he wanted to be with Sirius, so he got up, opened the door and he heard voices coming from the kitchen door. He checked the room they were just in, Sirius and Remus weren't there. '_They're probably in the kitchen, with Dumbledore_' he thought. He got angry at the thought of him, but took a deep breath and walked towards the door, but before he could open it he heard Sirius say, "Albus, I need to be with him." He leaned in closer to the door, he heard Sirius beg to be able to go to Hogwarts and stay in his dorm with Harry. '_Please let him, Dumbledore, please_' he thought. When he heard that Sirius would be teaching it took all he had not to scream and jump for joy. Then he heard Dumbledore say, "Why don't you go back upstairs and see Harry. I'm sure he can't wait to hear about this," '_Uh, oh._' he thought as he quickly and quietly went back into his room, closed the door quietly and laid on his bed with his back to the door, so they couldn't see him smiling when they came in. He heard them knock, he knew it would take everything in him not to laugh, or look happy. He heard them come in, and Remus say quietly, "Harry?", in an amused voice. Harry grunted to let them know he heard them. He didn't see Remus and Sirius exchange knowing smiles.

"Harry, would you like to turn around and look at us please?" Sirius asked. Harry heard the smile in his voice,'_Does he know I was listening?_' he asked himself, he took a deep breath, cleared his features and turned around to a smiling Sirius and Remus. "Hello, Harry." Sirius said. Harry bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing but as he was trying to control his emotions, the grins on Sirius and Remus grew.

He then exploded with laughter, "How did you know I was there?" he asked when he got his laughter under control. "I wasn't loud, I made sure to get out of the sight of the kitchen door. How did you know?" he asked again. The two adults gave eachother a look, smiled and then Sirius started to chuckle.

"Dumbledore has his ways, don't ask me what they are because I don't know myself." Remus said. "Why were you eavesdropping?"

Harry shook his head, "I wasn't," he started, Sirius and Remus shared a look and turned back to Harry with a look that said, 'Sure'. "Well, I wasn't...at least not at first. I went to open the door, and then I heard you talking to Dumbledore about going to Hogwarts, then I knew I couldn't go in, so I just..."

"Eavesdropped?" both men said simotaniously. Harry nodded at looked at the floor, both men erupted into fits of laughter. Harry looked up, very confused. _Why are they laughing_? The confusion must have shown on his face, for when they got a handle of their emotions, Sirius said, "That is exactly how we were when we were young, Harry. Exactly how your dad was at your age." Harry smiled, even though he was upset at how his dad had treated Snape, he still loved to listen to stories about him, and his mum. Remus saw the eagerness in Harry's eyes, eagerness to hear about his parents, he would have to talk to Sirius later.

"You're going to go to Hogwarts. I can't believe it, but just like Dumbledore said, you need a new name. Do you know what you want you're new name to be?" Harry asked.

Sirius smiled, "No, actually I don't. But I'm not very worried about it, we have plenty of time, and if need be I can enlist help. So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day, Harry?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," he said, but his eyes said differently. Remus and Sirius both saw he wanted to be in Sirius's presence for as long as possible, and Sirius wouldn't be out of his godson's sight if he could help it.

Sirius smiled. "Why don't we go up and see Ron? He's been waiting to see you, and I'm sure he'll be happy you're here." he said. Steering Harry toward the door. Sirius saw the now confused teenager look around the room and said, "He moved into a new room. I think he'll be moving back into this room tonight." Harry smiled, he wanted to see Ron, but he wanted to also be with Sirius for as long as possible. Walking up the stairs to Ron's new room, Harry and Sirius walked up the stairs, holding each other in one armed hugs, needed the physical contact with each other.

When Sirius opened the door, Harry went in, and Ron got up, "Harry!" he said, running over to him, enveloping him in a hug, patting his back he said, "How have you been, mate? Well, that's a very bad question, but you're better now that Sirius is back. When did you get here, I didn't hear you come in."

"I got back about an hour or so ago." he said. Harry looked around, the room looked exactly like the one they both shared, but there was only one bed and some posters of the Chuddly Cannons. "So, what have you been up to all summer, Ron?" he asked the red headed boy.

"Not much, just helping around the house. We've cleaned some more, but there's not much else to do, since Dumbledore told Dobby to help us until school starts, we haven't had to do much." Ron said.

Harry looked confused, "Dobby's here? Why?" he asked.

Ron smiled evilly. "Because once Kretcher...left, Dumbledore thought that it was a good idea for us to have someone to actually help clean the house for a while, and Dobby was only too happy to comply...especially when he found out you'd be here, Harry." he said with a smile. Harry groaned, he liked Dobby, but he could be a bit over enthusiastic sometimes.

"Joy," Harry said, he had no interest of what became of the traitorous house elf. "So, what do you plan on doing today?" he asked his friend.

"Well, not much. Hermione's coming over today as well. So we might do something together," Ron informed him. Harry saw the look in his best friend's eyes. Harry knew that Ron liked Hermione, but getting Ron to admit that is a whole different quidditch game. He looked over at Sirius and saw a small smile on his face, when he and Sirius locked eyes, they smiled a bit wider, they both knew what was going on inside Ron's head. "What's so funny?" Ron asked. Sirius and Harry both looked away.

"Nothing, Ron. Why don't we go down stairs and see what your mum cooked up for lunch." said Sirius. He knew the way to get this kid's mind off of one subject...put in food for another. It worked.

"Yeah, lets go see." said Ron, and that was it, he was out the door.

Harry and Sirius waited, looking at each other and heard a thud and an audible 'ouch!'. Harry and Sirius laughed before heading down themselves. Again in one-armed hugs, they walked down the stairs. Opening the door to the dinning room, Harry stopped short, Dumbledore sat at the table talking to Mr. Weasley. Sirius looked down at his godson, and saw what he was looking at. He gave his shoulder a slight squeeze of support and walked in with him. Mr. Weasley saw him and got up to meet him.

"Hello, Harry. How are you?" he asked, shaking his hand. Harry smiled in spite himself.

"I'm fine, Mr. Weasley, thanks. How are you?" Harry asked the older man.

"I'm fine, Harry," he said, guiding to the seat next to Sirius. "Molly's finishing up with lunch right now, so she should be out in a few seconds."

Harry nodded, "Sounds good. When we asked Ron if he wanted to see what Ms. Weasley was making today he said, 'Yeah, lets go.' and ran out the door, then fell flat on his face." he said laughing. Everyone joined in making Ron's ears go pink, when they saw this, they laughed harder.

Mrs. Weasley walked in to this scene and started to chuckle until she saw Harry, she made a squealing noise and ran over to Harry; thankfully the trays were held up by magic, or else the food would have been on the floor. Harry stood up to make her work easier, and braced himself for impact. She crashed into him and he held his ground with the bone breaking hug that he received, "Harry, how are you dear?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"I'm better, Ms. Weasley, thanks. How are you?" he asked. He didn't miss the looks that he was getting from Ms. Weasley.

"I'm fine, Harry. But you need to be fattened up, I swear if I could get my hands on those Dursleys..." she said, muttering. Harry felt his cheeks heat up for a second, he didn't miss the looks his friends were giving him either. They knew it wasn't the Dursleys. Harry sat down and took some food that was in front of him, not making eye contact to his friends, but looked over at Sirius and smiled.

Everyone was sitting and talking quietly when they heard the door bell ring, Harry tensed up waiting for the cries of Ms. Black, but it never came. He opened his eyes, confused. Everyone was smiling knowingly at him. It came to him when Mr. Weasley went to get the door: she was gone. "Wow, do I feel stupid." he said to Sirius. Everyone heard his statement and laughed, "What? I didn't know she was gone."

"Don't worry about it, Harry. Of course you didn't know, you couldn't have known. But Dumbledore got her down, and I appreciate it VERY much, I couldn't stand that woman when she was alive let alone her portrait." he said, laughing. There were many chuckles around; Harry was smiling to Sirius when he heard his name.

"HARRY!" yelled Hermione running into the room, smiling at her friend. Harry got up again and got ready for his second bone-crushing hug of the day. She ran and stopped short so as not to kill him, and gave him a huge hug. "How are you, Harry? I've been so worried. What happened?

You look like skin and bones. I swear those Dursleys..." she said.

Harry flushed for the second time that day, "I'm fine, Hermione. I've just been...preoccupied." he said. He saw the recognition dawn in her eyes.

She turned her head and said hello to everyone and then saw Sirius, "Hello, Sirius. How are you?" she asked, giving him an awkward hug, as he was still sitting.

Harry was stunned, how did she know he was back. He looked from Hermione back to Sirius, wondering how she knew. When he said, "Fine, Hermione, thanks," he went from stunned to angry. Very conscious of one of the people in the room he walked away from his friend and godfather. "Harry?" Sirius asked, confused. Then it dawned on him, "Harry. Come back." Harry turned, everyone was stunned at the anger in his eyes.

"I need to go." he said, everyone knew he was trying to stay calm. He turned back to go to the door, he was halfway there when...

"Harry."

Harry stopped trying to control his anger towards the man that just spoke, he clenched his fists in an attempt to stay calm. He knew what the man wanted, so he gave it to him. He slowly turned around. Dumbledore was standing, his eyes showed shock. Everyone could feel the anger pouring from his body in waves, his eyes were blazing. Trying to remain as calm as he could, he asked his friend, who now looked scared, "How long have you known Hermione?"

"Um...about 4 days." she said timidly, apologizing through her eyes towards her best friend. He let his anger abate for a second telling her with his eyes that he wasn't mad at her.

Harry then turned to Sirius, "And you've been back how long?" he asked, still trying to remain calm, so as not to upset anyone.

Sirius sighed, "A week." he said. He also was apologizing though his eyes. Harry did the same he did for Hermione, and let him know he wasn't upset with him. But when he looked at Dumbledore, his eyes were full of fire once more.

Harry tried to remain as calm as he could, "So, he's been back a week, and no one has thought to tell me?" he looked around at his friends and 'family'. He knew it wasn't their fault, but the man who was standing's. He fought the urge to scream. "How interesting, Hermione knew before I did, don't I feel special." he chuckled. He knew he was going to be able to say all he wanted, no one looked as if they would interrupt him, so he did it all in one shot. "I've been at the Dursleys for two and a half weeks, and Sirius came back a week ago. And NO ONE thought to tell ME?!" he ended up screaming. He wasn't looking at anyone but Dumbledore, so they all knew whom he was angry with. The anger was now coming off of him so powerfully, he knew he had to leave the room, before he did something he might regret. "I feel so special, that Hermione, my best friend, knew that my godfather, who I thought was DEAD, was alive before I did. Good Bye." he was trying to stay calm, but ended up running to the door, and running up the stairs just to slam the door.

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He was pissed, he was beyond pissed he was livid. He tried to calm himself by pacing, which didn't seem to be working. "_How could _Hermione _know that he was back before I did? I mean I'm his godson, I should have known the _**second**_ he was back._" he thought furiously. He heard a knock at the door, "If you aren't Sirius, go away." he said angrily.

"May I come in Harry?" he heard the voice on the other side of the door ask.

"You can do what you wish, Headmaster." he said, knowing what would be going to happen next: Dumbledore wanted to talk.

He heard the door open, then close. He was tense waiting for what the old professor would say, what he would do. He was still very upset over all this. "I'm so sorry, Harry." Harry heard Dumbledore say.

Harry stiffened at these words, he was still so mad at him. He clenched his fists, trying to calm himself. He heard Dumbledore cough, asking him to turn around. Harry gathered himself and turned around to look at the headmaster. He saw that the headmaster was very sorry about what he had done, but that didn't make him feel any better. He had been laying in the Dursley's house for a whole extra week than he needed to, and then on top of that, his best friends knew before he did. That was just wrong.

"Yes, professor? What is it that you need? As you can see, I'm not in a very jubilate mood right now." Harry said, trying to be as respectful as he could in the current circumstances.

"Yes, I can see that, Harry," said Dumbledore.

"Then what is it that you need, sir?" he asked again, growing tired of this already, and it hadn't even started.

"I'm sorry," he said again. Harry became angry, he already knew that he was sorry, he could see that.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you did it. You kept Sirius under lock and key, you had to have. Because I know that Sirius would have wanted to see me the second he got back, and the only person capable of that, is you. Unless-" he paused, not realizing that he didn't think this before, "Unless, he didn't want to see me." he finished softly. He never had even considered that fact, maybe Sirius just wanted to be alone, and not be with Harry, but he was taken out of his musings by Dumbledore, who spoke again.

"No, he did want to see you. But I told him no, because I didn't think that then was a good time." he started. If he was going to say more, Harry never knew, because he got so angry at that comment he almost started screaming.

"You didn't think that then was a good time?! What time would have been better? It wouldn't have mattered to me if he came back at 12, 1 or 2 am, I would have gotten up and gone. I probably wasn't even asleep at 1 am! I was at the Dursleys suffering for a week longer than I had to. What didn't seem like a good idea? I should have known the SECOND he was back. But no, you instead kept Sirius locked up and told everyone, INCLUDING HERMIONE, WHO WASN'T EVEN IN THE HOUSE!!" he screamed at Dumbledore. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't understand, how you could tell Hermione and you didn't even think what would happen when I found out. I'm guess you didn't, because you weren't really expecting this, now were you? Didn't think so." he said when he got no answer. He wasn't finished yet.

"So, you took your time, to tell Hermione. How, I don't know, and I don't care. The only thing that I care about is the fact that you couldn't do the same for me." he said, still raving. He looked out the window that he found himself in front of, "I was so miserable, knowing that I had caused his death. I was somewhere, where I couldn't even talk to someone just to do something, to get my mind off everything. All I had was my homework, which I barley even started anyways. I was either practicing Occulmency or thinking about Sirius, and how sorry I was that I had led him to his death." he said, quietly. He didn't even know if the old man could hear him, and he didn't really care at the moment. "I had killed him. Not intentionally, but I did. I went to save him, and he had to go there to save me instead. That's not something you want to be sitting on for long periods of time, you know? But hey, that's what I had to do." he said, finishing his rant. More would probably come later.

Dumbledore sighed, he knew he shouldn't have left Harry at his uncle's house for so long without telling him, but he did, and now he was paying for it. "Harry-" he started but Harry interrupted him.

"Don't say 'I'm sorry' because you could be sorry all you want and it wouldn't change the fact that you did it. I'm not sure how you kept everyone from telling me in my letters." he started. He just got a thought, turned around and said, "I wonder, how you could have made sure that they didn't tell me. Did you have to read my mail to be sure? Because I don't see how you could have done it. I know they would have told me, if you hadn't done something, threatened them, I suppose or something else. It doesn't really matter now, but who knows..." he finished, turning back to the window.

"Harry, I understand why you're angry at me. But I did what I though was for the best at the time, and now I see that was a mistake on my part, and I truly regret it now." Dumbledore tried, trying to get on the better side of the young man.

Wrong again. "Today is not your day with words, is it, professor? Because, if it were, you wouldn't be saying these things." Harry said, then walked through the door and started down the stairs.

"Harry," Dumbledore started.

He stopped. Harry tried to calm down, "I'm sorry, professor, I have no more to say. If I do, I will be very disrespectful, and no matter how angry I am right now, I know that I can't be disrespectful towards you. But, I can't tell you what I think without being disrespectful." he said.

He walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, totally ignoring the headmaster's calls. Subconsciously he knew he would be in trouble for that later, but now he was too mad. He started to catch his breath when he was in site of the door, so as not to arouse suspicion. He opened the door and closed it behind him. He smiled when he saw Sirius, when everyone saw he was there, they stopped what they were doing and looked at him apprehensively. "Lets play a game," he said. Everyone exchanged worried glances. "I'm not crazy, I want to play a game with you guys. Any game, it doesn't matter, just something to do." They smiled and nodded.

"So what game do you want to play?" Sirius asked the teens.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" Fred asked. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. So they prepared the game and started playing. Everyone forgetting their troubles, including Harry. He just enjoyed the time he was spending with his friends and godfather. Harry never heard the door open, or hear footsteps come a few yards behind him. No one in the game noticed him, they were too busy making jokes. Harry was smiling as if he didn't have a care in the world. Once he made his presence known though, his whole demeanor changed. He grew tense once more, and the smile slipped off his face as fast as someone could disaparate. He knew he was in trouble. "I'm in trouble." he said quietly, making sure the man a few yards behind him didn't hear.

Sirius looked confused, "Why would you be in trouble?" he asked. He knew that they had argued, but Dumbledore didn't look angry, but you could never tell with that man.

Harry grimaced, "I kinda walked out on him when he told me to stop." he said. What was he supposed to do? He was confused, he didn't know what to say to the old man. But then he heard the door open again and heard one person that he hated above the man behind him.

"You called, Headmaster." he heard Snape say.

Harry felt like he was being closed in on. He was so mad at Dumbledore that he couldn't think straight when he was talking to him, but now in came his most hated professor, and everything was going to change. "No, no, not him. Just leave me be," Harry whispered. Sirius was the only one who heard him. He got up and sat next to his godson, he wrapped his arm around him, giving him a one armed hug.

At last Dumbledore spoke, "Harry would you come with me please? You too Sirius." he asked. They both knew that wasn't a question; that was an order.

He sighed giving his friends one last look, he and Sirius got up, and walked to the door off the kitchen. Harry had never noticed this room before, but he didn't want to be in a closed room with the headmaster and his most despised Potion's professor. With his head down, he and Sirius walked into the room after the two men. When the door closed, he felt very closed in, even though it was a big room. Sirius was standing beside him, giving him silent support. Harry had an idea of what Snape was there for, but he couldn't find the energy to care.

Dumbledore started when he figured no one else would speak, "Harry," he said, the teen looked up. The anger wasn't as present as before, but it was still visible. "I have brought Professor Snape here to test you on your Occlumency skills. You said you have been practicing hard, and I would like Professor Snape to give you an assessment," he finished.

Harry wasn't very surprised, he figured that was what the older man was doing. But if he didn't like it, the look on Snape's face told everyone that he would rather be doing something else completely. But when Dumbledore's eyes locked with the potion master's the look vanished, he knew he had to do this no matter what, and arguing wasn't going to help.

"Potter," he said, grudgingly. He walked to the middle of the room, pulling out his wand. Harry glanced at Sirius and nodded slightly, his arm fell from his godson's shoulder. Harry stood facing the one professor who absolutely despised him. He closed his eyes, he knew he would never be able to clear his mind with the face of his potions professor in front of him. He took a deep breath and raised his wand slightly, to tell the man in front of him he was ready. He heard a soft, "Legilimens,"

Harry closed his mind at the fist sign of the arch. He then thought of Sirius, knowing how much the man in front of him hated him, how much he, Harry, loved him. Snape just kept right on pushing, but Harry pushed back with equal force. Now thinking about his friends and Sirius together trying to push the man out of his head, he felt the man standing in front of him, weakening at his pushing of love, so he gave one last push. Then he saw a picture of his mum come into view. He knew these weren't his memories anymore: they were Snape's. But he was confused, why would a memory of his mum be in the head of a man who hated him so much? He couldn't think anymore when the spell stopped. Harry was on the floor panting, he looked up at his potion's professor who was, stunningly on the floor as well. He felt Sirius's presence behind him, and Sirius put his arms around his godson.

"Are you alright, Harry?" he asked, concerned. Harry nodded, too tired to do anything else.

He heard Snape say to Dumbledore, "He has greatly improved, Headmaster, from the last time I saw him."

Harry then heard Dumbledore say to Snape, "Thank you, Severus. You may leave now." He then heard Snape walk toward the door and out he went. Harry was too tired to try to get up, but when he heard Dumbledore's next comment he was no longer tired. "Harry, what is it that you don't want me to know?"

Harry looked up, "I told you, I can't tell you without being disrespectful." he said, getting up. He walked to the door, and turned the handle: it was locked. Harry took a deep breath, "Let me out," he said, his back to his headmaster and godfather.

Dumbledore sighed, "Not till you tell me what's going on, Harry." he said.

Harry spun around, "You can't do that. I already told you, I can't tell you." he said turning back to the door, trying it again. No good. "This is when I really hate underage restrictions." he muttered. "Let me out," he said once again, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"No, Harry. I'm sorry I have to do this, but I can't help you without knowing what is wrong." he said.

Harry was ticked, but he held his emotions in check, he could get out, with the help of his godfather. He turned around, "Sirius," he started. Sirius knew what his godson wanted, "Please let me out of this room," he finished.

Sirius was looking uncomfortable going up against the headmaster, "Albus, please. This isn't fair to Harry," he said.

Dumbledore shook his head, "We'll talk later, Sirius. But right now, I need to talk to Harry," he said. Harry turned back towards the door and he started knocking. Dumbledore sighed, "Harry, stop," he said.

Harry automatically stopped, he was listening hard for a noise in the kitchen. He then heard someone on the other side. "Harry? Is that you in there? Are you alright?" Ms. Weasley asked.

"Yes, Ms. Weasley. Please let me out," he asked. He had never been happier to hear her.

"What are you doing locked in the room? Did you get yourself locked in? Well, don't worry, dear. I'll get you out," she said.

But not a second later he heard Dumbledore say, "Molly, I'm in here with Harry. Please leave the door closed," he said.

"Albus? What? Why? What happened? And why is Harry locked in?" she asked.

Harry could tell she was confused and wanted him out, so he used that to his advantage. "Ms. Weasley, please unlock the door. I want out," he said, putting a bit more emotion into his voice.

He heard silence for a while, he started to get worried that she was gone. But then she started to talk, "Well..." she paused, "I'm not sure about this, Harry. I want you out, but if Albus said to leave it locked...then I'm afraid I'll have to follow his instructions, I'm sorry Harry." she said.

He heard her footsteps leave the door after a second, he knew she was pulling herself away from the door. "No, Ms. Weasley." he said. His shoulders slumped, he knew there was no way out.

Sirius was being hard pressed to keep quiet, then an idea came to him. "Come here, Harry," he said, walking toward the teen. Harry looked around. Sirius mouthed, 'play along'. Sirius gave him a hug, and started walking him toward the opposite wall of the room.

Harry was too confused to even ask what they were doing, but he knew he couldn't say anything, lest he mess up what Sirius was doing. They were at the wall opposite of Dumbledore, who was staring at them with a confused look on his face, on the other side of the room. Sirius discretely took out his wand and quickly started tapping the wall. Harry now knew what was going on: There was a secret passageway behind the wall! Dumbledore realized what was going on and started toward them when the door appeared.

"I'm sorry, Albus, but I can't do this to him," he said opening the door and he and Harry ran inside and he shut the door.

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	3. A Secret Room

Chapter 3

He then started tapping on the bricks. When Sirius finished he sighed, "Well, that was easy." he said.

"But won't he be able to get inside?" Harry asked.

"No, he would need to reveal the door first, and then unlock it. But he doesn't know the combination for the secret wall. So we can stay in here for a while." Sirius said.

Harry smiled, "But you're going to be in trouble. How did you know that was there anyways?" he asked.

Sirius smiled, "Yes, I will be. But nothing I can't handle. And as for knowing it was there: My parents told me." he said. Walking up the stairs with Harry in a one armed embrace. He saw the stunned look on Harry's face, "Yes, they told me. When I was young and not so...rebellious. They wanted to be sure Reglus and I had a safe room to go to incase anything happened in the house. So they told me, and I had just remembered it was there."

Harry was happy that he was able to get away from the headmaster, though he knew Sirius would be in trouble for helping him. "So, where does this go?" he asked.

Sirius smiled, "You'll see," he said. They continued on up the stairs. Harry saw a door up ahead. He assumed that was the room Sirius was talking about. When they got to the door Sirius turned the handle, and the door opened after having to be pushed physically by Sirius to get into the room.

They walked in and Harry stared wide-eyed at the room. The room was a fare size, with a sofa and armchairs in the middle of the room. There was a fire near the armchairs, which roared to life when Sirius waved his hand at it. There was a bookcase filled with books to Harry's right and a table for at least four people. The rest of the space was open area. There was also an armoire, which Harry had overlooked. It looked like one of those that you could hide a bed in. The walls were painted a mid-shade of green. The sofa and tablecloths were silver. There were a few candles scattered about the room and a hanging chandelier above the table. And everything was covered in dust and cobwebs.

Sirius watched his godson with amusement. He had acted about the same way when he first saw the room, though he was only 5 at the time. He thought that Harry might want to have a safe place to go to as well. He would teach him how to get into the secret room. Though that would wait for later. "I need to re-decorate. Don't you agree?" Sirius asked. The only thing he hated about this room was the color: Slytherin Colors.

Harry smiled, "Definitely!" he said. He paused in mock thoughtfulness. "But what colors?" he asked.

Sirius smiled, "Maroon and gold?" he asked.

Harry nodded, "Maroon and gold sounds like a good idea." He stated.

Sirius raised his wand and went over to the sofa and chairs. He tapped them twice and said an incantation that Harry couldn't hear. The next second, the chairs were red. Harry smiled, he now knew what was going to be what color. When Sirius was finished the room had golden yellow walls. The tablecloth was yellow, and there were now place mats that were red. There was now a red rug near the chairs, but far enough away from the fireplace so it didn't catch fire.

The room now gave off comforting warmth. Harry smiled at how much changing the colors of the items in the room brightened it up. Sirius then pointed to the sofa and they both sat down. They looked at the fire and enjoyed the silence they had found. Harry wondered if they could do this more often, just sit and enjoy the other's company.

All of a sudden there was a soft, but audible noise. Harry looked at Sirius, who smiled. It occurred to Harry that they had probably missed dinner. Sirius got up, "Why don't I grab us something to eat? As you can tell we've missed dinner and I'm hungry," he asked.

Harry smiled, "Sounds like a good idea." he said. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head, "Nah. I'm fine, you just sit here and I'll be right back." he said. Moving towards the door.

"Be careful," Harry said. Sirius turned around, he knew what Harry meant: Don't get caught by Dumbledore. Sirius nodded his head, the walked out.

Harry sat down with a sigh. He already missed Sirius, and he had only been gone for less than thirty seconds. He would have to get over this before school started; or else he would be in bad shape. Harry just stared into the fire wondering what they were going to do together for the rest of the summer.

Sirius walked down the stairs quickly, but quietly. He knew he needed to get the food and back soon for Harry's sake. He knew that Harry couldn't stand to be out of his presence for long periods of time. Hell, he couldn't stand being out of Harry's presence either. He also needed to be careful to watch out for Dumbledore; he didn't need to be held up for longer than he needed to be.

Sirius reached the door in a few seconds from leaving Harry. He tapped the door to reveal it, and then the tapped it again in the special sequence to unlock it. He took a deep breath and turned the handle. He walked out and cautiously looked around; he sighed in relief, Dumbledore wasn't there.

He walked up to the door that led to the kitchen. He listened for any noise on the other side of the door. There was none, so he quietly opened the door enough to peek out and make sure there wasn't anyone there. All clear. Sirius walked out and grabbed a bag and shoved some food in it. He was about to turn back around when the door opened.

Sirius wasn't about to be seen by Dumbledore so he ducked down behind the counter. He listened for any noise and then he heard footsteps, then a sigh. Sirius smiled, then stood up. Remus jumped when he saw him. "What are you doing?" he whispered. "Dumbledore was waiting for you. What did you do? Where's Harry?" he asked.

Sirius smiled, "Well, I'm getting food, number one. Number two, Dumbledore was holding Harry captive and I wasn't about to let him do that, and I had just remembered that there was a secret room hidden in the wall of that room. So I took Harry over there and we got in, away from Dumbledore. And number 3, Harry is up there waiting for me and this food," he said.

Remus sighed, "Well, you'd better get moving then. You know that boy can't stand for you to be out of his sight for more than a little while. So get on back up there," he said.

Sirius smiled, "You don't want to go?" he asked. He motioned Remus to come with him and they both walked over to the door.

Just as they opened the door to go in, the door that Remus came through opened again. This time not one Sirius wanted to see: Dumbledore. When Dumbledore saw them they hightailed it to the door and Sirius did the secret pattern to get in. Just as he opened the door, Dumbledore came rushing in. They both ran in and when Sirius shut the door, he locked it, then hid the door.

Sirius sighed, "Well, I think he's going to be a bit mad." He stated.

Remus laughed, "I'm sure he will be. Though he would be very angry to actually show it. So let's hope that he's not all that ticked off with you, yes?" he asked.

Sirius smiled, "Definitely." He said.

Sirius started to walk up when Remus stopped him. "Sirius, you remember a few hours ago after Harry eavesdropped and you said that was just what James was like?" he asked.

Sirius nodded, "Yes, what about it?" he asked.

Remus sighed, "Did you see that look in his eyes?" he asked. Sirius shook his head. "I didn't think so. He wants to hear some stories about Lily and James. It's so obvious. What we need to do is to either tell him some stories, or get a pensive and let him see it for himself." Remus stated.

Sirius started to nod, "Yeah that sounds like a great idea. We could tell him some stories now, and we could give him some for his birthday. That's brilliant, Moony!" he said, clapping Remus on the shoulder. They started walking up the stairs.

"Hey, that's why I was the thinker of us Marauders. You guys just did what you wanted and didn't think it through enough to see at what point would it be most advantageous to do those pranks. You would always be in trouble before I decided to step in and give a little advice." Remus stated, smiling. Sirius put his nose in the air and walked one stair ahead of him. He raised his voice to reach Sirius, "You know I'm right, why not just admit it? But then again I should know you better than that by now. You never admit you were wrong, even at school," he said as they walked in the room.

Harry stood up, "Sirius?" he asked obviously not expecting the next person to walk in the room. "Remus? What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad you're here, just wondering." he asked.

Sirius laughed, "Well, he came in while I was finishing getting the food," he said as he put the bag on the table. "Then when we were leaving, Dumbledore came in." he finished. Harry's eyes grew wide. "But we hightailed it when we saw him come in. So now Remus is on the run." Sirius said, smiling at his old friend.

Remus sighed, "Yeah, well." He said looking around. He smiled, "Let me guess, you redecorated?" he asked.

Sirius let out a dog like bark, "Absolutly! I mean did you seriously think that I would leave this room in Slytherin colors?" he asked.

Remus smiled, "No, not really. It was the only logical conclusion that I came up with. Seeing as how this house is so Slytherin and you are so Gryffindor, I didn't think that this room would be maroon and gold all on its own," he said.

Sirius smiled, "Now we are shown who the _real_ thinker of the Marauders is." he said. Smiling towards Remus.

Remus sighed, "Yeah, sure Padfoot. I'm sure that when you decided to raid the library of books, you didn't think that Madam Pince would be in the Library at the same time did you? Though seeing as how it wasn't even after hours, I have no clue why you would have even thought to take the books until she was at least gone," he said.

Sirius blushed, "Now, that's not fair. I was a first year and you know that it wasn't just me, but James, Peter, AND you. So I don't think you need to be pointing fingers here old Moony." He said.

Remus glared at Sirius, "OLD?! Who's old? If I'm old then that means you're old too. But that doesn't matter, I was trying to talk you out of it and you, James, and Peter decided it would be a good idea. So did you listen to me when I said it might be a good idea to not do that? No, nothing I said would make any difference. So you took several books out of the restricted section and tried to get out of the library when…" he continued with Sirius.

Neither one of the two men noticed Harry's face. His face shown with excitement, listening to the story of his dad and friends. Harry couldn't believe that even a first year would have been that stupid. He then started to get a little drowsy. So, he settled down in the armchair he was sitting in and dosed off with the sound of Remus and Sirius' voices lulling him to sleep.

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The next thing Harry knew he was in the air and being carried down a hall. When he opened his eyes he was looking at Sirius' shirt. He closed his eyes, not wanting Sirius to know he was awake. He heard Sirius tell Remus to open the door, and how to open it. He would store that information for later on. He then heard the door open, Sirius started walking forward. Remus walked in front of Sirius to open the door. Harry heard the door open to the kitchen then he heard Sirius gasp. Harry knew Dumbledore must be there. He was very careful not to make any movements; he didn't need a scene on his hands.

"Sirius what is going on?" Harry heard Dumbledore ask. It was hard to tell if the old man was angry or not, but that was always hard to tell.

"Albus, please, Harry's asleep and I need to get him up to his room." Sirius said quietly. Harry was now slowly drifting back to sleep in his godfather's arms. He was very comfortable, so he ended up falling right back to sleep.

All of a sudden, Harry started to dream. He hadn't been dreaming before but now the dream came back, as it always did when he was asleep.

Harry watched helplessly as Sirius battled Bellatrix. He knew what would happen and needed to stop it before Sirius was gone forever. He tried to move but found that he was stuck to the ground. "Sirius!" he yelled. Trying to get Sirius' attention he screamed again, "Sirius! Watch out she's going to kill you, please move. Don't leave me, PLEASE!" he was screaming. Sirius wasn't taking any notice of him, he was still battling his evil cousin. As Bella shot her first stunner, Harry wanted to wake up so badly so he didn't have to witness, once again, his godfather's death. Just as Bellatrix shot her second curse, before it could reach Sirius, Harry tried one last time, "SIRIUS!" he screamed. He was woken up before Sirius could fall through the veil.

"Sirius!" he screamed as he woke up. Tears were falling down his face as his godfather wrapped his arms around his frightened godson. Harry buried his face in his godfather's shirt. "I'm so sorry Sirius," he said in between his tears. "I'm sorry I killed you."

"Harry," Sirius said, trying to comfort his distraught godson. "You didn't kill me, it wasn't your fault. I went, even when I knew what might happen, but-"

"No, Sirius. It was my fault, I didn't do what I was suppose to, and I went to the Department of Mysteries and-" he stopped, gasping for air.

"It's ok now, Harry." Sirius said, rubbing Harry's back in small circles trying to get him to calm down. Sirius knew, once he left Harry would have bad dreams. He felt bad knowing this, so, he knew what he needed to do. He transformed into Padfoot.

Harry pulled away from his godfather, with a confused look on his face. Sirius nudged Harry so he fell onto the bed. Harry then realized why he Sirius was in his dog form: he was going to stay with him. Harry tried to argue back, but Snuffles gave a low growl and Harry shut his mouth and gave a small smile. Harry moved to the opposite side of the bed, where the bed met the wall, so Sirius could have more room.

Sirius made himself comfortable and moved closer to Harry. Harry put his arms around his neck, and said "Thank you, Padfoot." Harry shut his eyes and, thankfully, fell into a dreamless sleep. They never saw Remus and Dumbledore come into the room and look in upon the scene with big smiles.

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Harry woke up from his sleep to find himself looking at a bunch of black hair. The night's events rolled through his mind as he looked at the dog in front of him. He realized that Sirius had stayed all night. It felt good to know that someone cared enough to stay with him while he slept so he didn't have any nightmares. He felt a large smile slip on his face.

Harry moved his arms as to let Padfoot know he was awake. Sirius must have already been awake, for he jumped off the bed and stretched to let Harry get up. He barked at Harry, who was just lying there watching Sirius. He came over and pulled on Harry's shirt so he would get up. "Hey!" Harry yelled, as Sirius accidentally pulled too hard and he fell off the bed and onto the floor with a 'thump'.

Padfoot whined in apology, then smelled the air, his tail started to wag. Harry got the message: Food. Rolling his eyes, Harry got up and put on a clean shirt as Snuffles walked over to the door and started pawing the door, whining, telling Harry to hurry up.

Harry smiled, "Alright, I'm coming keep your…hair on." He said.

Sirius snorted, and continued to paw the door until Harry opened it. Even though he seemed eager to get out, he walked down the stairs at Harry's side.

Harry wondered why Sirius didn't change back into himself, and what he was going to do for breakfast if he stayed as a dog. He didn't have long to wonder, as they were approaching the door to the kitchen. Harry opened the door for Sirius to go in first, then walked in behind him.

"Hello, Padfoot. Sleep well?" Remus asked. When Harry looked at him, he saw a knowing look in his eyes. When he looked at everyone else he saw a knowing look in their eyes as well. He wondered briefly how everyone could have known that Sirius had slept with him. But his curiosity was short lived, when he spotted the headmaster with the same knowing look and a smile to accompany it.

Harry suddenly felt guilty about how he had treated the old wizard the day before. But, before he could do anything, the headmaster nodded, as if saying 'it was alright'. Which confused Harry to no end, how did he know what he was thinking? He double-checked his Occlumency shield. It was up, so how could he know? He then realized that it must have shown in his eyes, he must have let his guard down for a second and let that emotion show.

Harry smiled at his professor. They had come to a temporary truce, until they could talk. Sleeping had done Harry a world of good it seemed. He felt much better, and the entire room could feel it. Sirius transformed back into his human form. He and Harry shared a look and smiled at each other.

Harry and Sirius sat down. Harry was sitting next to Hermione and Sirius beside Remus. They were, of course, sitting next to each other. Hermione looked over at Harry and said, "Good morning, Harry."

"Yeah, good morning, Harry."

Harry looked up from his food to see Ron staring at him with a weird look in his eyes that he couldn't define. "How did you sleep, Harry? I hope quite well," he said.

Harry was now very confused. What was Ron playing at? Then a thought came to him. "What are you going on about? Where did you sleep last night?" Harry asked his friend.

Ron smiled knowingly, "Why, in our room of course. What other room did you expect me to sleep in?" he asked his confused friend.

Harry now knew why everyone had that knowing look on their faces. "So, you're the reason that everyone knows that Sirius stayed with me last night?" he asked.

Ron smiled, "No, Harry. I was there and I saw you two sleeping like babies, which was very sweet I might add, but there also were a few more people who came into the room and saw you two sleeping." he said.

Harry was now confused again. Who came in their room while Harry and Sirius were sleeping? He decided to ask Ron that very same question.

Ron smiled, "Well, lets see…there was Dumbledore, Remus, my parents, Hermione, the twins, Ginny, Tonks, Kingsley, and I think that's it." he completed.

Harry was blushing slightly. Almost everyone came in to watch him and Sirius sleep. How embarrassing. He heard Sirius chuckle, and looked over to his godfather. Sirius looked at him and said, "Don't worry about them, Harry. Just eat your breakfast."

Apparently Ron agreed, because he dove face first into the pancakes. He put about 6 pancakes on his plate and started to shove it all in. Everyone started laughing when Ron started choking on his food. He then took a drink of water and started breathing again. He continued eating but at a little bit slower pace.

Harry followed everyone's lead and started filling up his plate. He hadn't had a good meal in almost three weeks. They ate their food in relative silence. Then some people started having side conversations. Harry wasn't so into his food that he couldn't hear his name. "That was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Harry and Sirius sleeping like that…I wish I had had a camera. Though I wonder why Sirius decided to sleep with Harry?" he heard Mrs. Weasley ask someone.

Though he didn't hear the response he didn't really care. "So, what are we going to do today, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head, "I'm not sure, but we'll think of something." he said.

Ron leaned back in his chair and sighed. He was finished with his breakfast. Soon after Hermione was done as well. Harry was just finishing up when Sirius said, "Why don't you guys go upstairs for a while. I'll be right up after I have a little…discussion with Remus." He said with a pointed glare at his best friend, who just smiled.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked his godfather. He really couldn't stand having him away from him for more than a few seconds. But he knew he had to get over this, so he said, "Ok, we'll meet you upstairs." He said, gathering his friends and walking towards the door. When they got to the door and Hermione and Ron went in Harry looked back one last time. He gave his godfather a smile, and went upstairs with his friends.

Sirius stood up after he knew the children were gone, "Hey, guys listen, I've got an idea." He said. Everyone looked at him expectantly, wondering what he was going to say. "Harry's birthday is in a few weeks, and I thought that we could throw him a surprise birthday party." he finished.

"That's a great idea, Sirius!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "I doubt that boy has had a proper birthday party in 16 years." She said, hating the muggles more.

"Well, more like 15 but that doesn't matter. So, I was thinking that we could fix up the kitchen for the party, and all that. But the problem is, getting Harry away from the kitchen while we do it. Because he's pretty good at figuring stuff out." He said.

The group nodded. "Well, we'll figure that out when the time comes, but I think we can work with what we have right now. So, you'd better get upstairs, Sirius, or you'll have someone coming down to fetch you." Remus said with a smile.

Sirius glared at his best friend, who just smiled. "You don't know why I stayed with him, and you don't need to know. So just but out Remus." He said.

His friend backed down. He understood that Sirius was very protective of Harry, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Why did you stay with him all night? Can't he sleep on his…own?" he asked. Then recognition dawned on his face. "Of course," Remus said quietly. "He can't sleep without you, can he?" he asked.

Sirius shook his head, "No, but I have to go now," He said. Walking towards the stairs. When he got to the door, Harry came in. Sirius held his breath, thinking Harry had been there the entire time.

"Hey, kiddo, I was just coming up." Sirius said.

Harry smiled, "Yeah, that was reason number one, but I also would like to speak with Professor Dumbledore, if that's ok." he asked.

Sirius nodded, "Sure, do you want me to stay with you, or go wait upstairs?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, "No that's ok, you can wait upstairs if you want." he said.

Sirius nodded, "Ok, I'll see you in your room." he said. Sirius walked upstairs leaving Harry to talk with his professor.

Harry walked over to the headmaster, "Sir, could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

Dumbledore nodded, "If you will excuse me. That was a wonderful breakfast, Molly, as always." he said, rising from his chair.

Mrs. Weasley chuckled, "It was nothing, Albus." she said.

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Weasley. It was wonderful." Harry said with a smile.

Mrs. Weasley started to blush, "It was nothing, dear. Why don't you and Albus go talk, I'll do the dishes." She said.

"Do you need any help, Mrs. Weasley?" he asked, his smile vanishing.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, "No, dear, I'm fine. You go talk with Professor Dumbledore. I've got everything under control." she said.

Harry turned around to see his professor walking towards the room they used the previous night. He followed the headmaster and walked inside the room, closing the door behind him, though not before hearing Mrs. Weasley say, 'What a nice boy.'

Harry started talking once the door was closed. "Sir, I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday. I was out of line and I apologize. I shouldn't have gotten so angry that I disobeyed your wishes. Please forgive me, Sir?" he asked, his head bowed.

Dumbledore laughed, "Harry, it's alright. No harm done. I realized I shouldn't have done what I did either, and it is I who should be apologizing, not you." He said.

Harry lifted his head to meet the eyes of the headmaster. He shook his head, "You have nothing to apologize for, sir." Harry said.

"Neither do you, Harry." said Dumbledore. He smiled, "Why don't you go back upstairs. Enjoy the time you have with Sirius and your friends." Dumbledore said. He could see that Harry was starting to get jittery, from being away from Sirius for the amount of time that he had been away. Though he knew Harry would get used to Sirius being here and not always have to be in his presence, but that would come in time.

Harry nodded, "Yes, thank you, Professor." he said. He walked out of the room, trying his best not to run, he didn't want Dumbledore to think he was running from him. Then once out the small room, he sprinted out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his godfather…and his best friends of course. He never heard the people gathered in the kitchen chuckle when he ran through.

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	4. Needy

Chapter 4

Harry sprinted as fast as he could up the stairs. He still couldn't believe he was acting this way. He should be able to be out of his godfather's sight for a few minutes without freaking out…shouldn't he? "_What's wrong with me?_" he wondered. '_Why do I act this way when I'm away from him?_"

Harry slowed down when the door came into view, the last thing he needed was for Sirius to know that he needed him so much. Where he got the notion from he wasn't sure.

Harry got his breathing under control before he opened the door. Sirius was on the edge of his seat, looking as though he was anxious about something. "I'm back," he said, a smile gracing his lips.

Sirius looked up and visibly relaxed. He smiled at his godson. Harry was surprised at the love he saw in his eyes. Ron and Hermione also looked up when he made his presence known. They smiled at him. Harry walked in and sat down next to Sirius. He wondered what they would be doing for the rest of the day. There wasn't much to do at Grimmuald Place. So he asked, "So, what are we going to be doing for the rest of the day?"

Ron was about to say something when the door opened and Harry turned. He saw Ginny standing in the door with a big smile. "Harry. How are you? I haven't been able to talk you yet," she said.

Harry smiled back, "I'm alright, I guess. How are you?" he asked.

Ginny smiled, "I'm fine," she said. Harry took a good look at his friend. Harry had started thinking of Ginny, not as Ron's sister, but as one of his good friends. She walked over to Ron and Hermione and sat down. "Hello, Sirius. You all right now?" she asked.

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

Ginny nodded, "So, what are you guys going to do today?" she asked.

Ron was about to say something when the door opened again. This time Remus came through the door. He smiled knowingly when he spotted Harry, "Hello, Harry. I thought you would be up here already," he said.

Harry was confused for a moment, but then it hit him like he had punched him in the stomach: he had run through the kitchen while they were still in there. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered. He hoped that Remus wouldn't say anything else, but his wish didn't come true because Ron had to ask why he would have thought that.

Remus' smile faltered a little, but was still smiling, "Well, Harry went into the room with Dumbledore, then after a little while, he walked out. He shut the door behind him, then ran like a bat out of hell up the stairs," he said.

Harry was mortified, how could Remus say that, now Sirius would know how he reacted when he was out of his presence. He was trying to think of an excuse but he felt his face heat up under the pressure and ended up stuttering. He stopped talking then said, "I have to go to the bathroom."

He ran out of the room, his face burning. He heard Remus swear and say, "Harry?" in a very upset tone. He knew that Remus felt bad for saying what he did, but it didn't keep Harry from being upset that he said it at all.

He ran into the hallway and down the hall to the bathroom. He was so embarrassed at what had happened. When he got into the room he locked the door behind him and walked over to the sink. He looked at his reflection, his face was a tinge of red. He looked down at the counter and sighed. He wondered how Sirius was going to react to what Remus had said. Would he understand? Would he be make fun of him? There were too many thoughts in his head, but he didn't need to worry very long, for there was a knock at the door. Harry started, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was…apparently his luck wasn't good today.

"Harry?" came the voice of his godfather.

"Hold on," he said, hoping that he would take the hint and leave. No such luck.

"Harry, are you alright?" he asked.

Harry sighed; sure he was fine…just humiliated. "Yes, I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute," he said, just to get him off his back. He didn't know how he would react when he saw Sirius. But he didn't have long to wait on that either, because the door started to open. He wheeled around and saw his godfather standing there with a sad look in his eyes. Harry started to panic, what was his godfather thinking of him?

Harry's face started to heat up again, "What are you doing, Sirius? I could have been going to the bathroom!" he said.

Sirius smile sadly, "Harry how could you when your voice was coming from over by the sink?" he asked.

Harry looked over at the sink and then at the toilet, oops. "Well…" he stopped, he didn't know what to say. How could he tell Sirius that he freaked out when he wasn't with him? He didn't want to see the look of horror on his godfather's face. But he didn't have long to think, because Sirius started talking again.

"Harry, what's wrong? Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. He was very concerned about Harry, though happy that he needed him so much. Even though he never should have felt that way, if he hadn't have 'died' Harry would never have the need to be with him.

Harry was looking at the ground. He couldn't tell Sirius that he needed him so much. He felt like that was a weakness that he would exploit for some reason. He knew Sirius would never do something like that, it was an irrational fear, where it came from he wasn't certain.

Sirius sighed, he walked over to his godson and placed one hand on his shoulder and then put the other under his chin and pushed up, so his godson would be looking at him. He saw the love in his eyes but also there was apprehension, for what, he didn't know. "Harry, what's going on in that head of yours?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, and in doing so making Sirius's hand remove it's self from his chin. How could he tell him? He didn't even know where to begin.

Sirius sighed again, removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and pulled his godson into a hug. He wished that he could take away what his godson was feeling, because he felt it too. He also had the need to be with Harry, though he hid it very well. He felt Harry's arms wrap around him and tighten. His own arms tightened around his godson.

Harry felt a smile come across his face. He was safe, and with his godfather. He didn't know how long they stood there like that but eventually he felt his godfather give him a small pat on his back and pull away. Sirius was smiling as well.

"So, what was it about Remus' statement that has you so upset?" Sirius asked.

Harry sighed, "Nothing," he said. Knowing that Sirius knew he was lying through his teeth.

Sirius sighed, "Harry, I know why you were upset by Remus' comment. Though you should know that I am the same way. I was that way with Remus as well when I came back," he paused. "When I think on it, Remus was that way as well. We couldn't stand to be out of each other's sight for two minutes," he said.

Harry looked up at Sirius, "Really?" he asked. Harry was happy that he wasn't the only one who felt like this. He didn't feel so embarrassed now.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Both of us will get over it, soon enough," he said. "Though I love your company, you do know that, right, Harry?" he asked.

Harry smiled, "Yes, Sirius. So do I, I love your company as well. It was just…so hard while you were gone. It was hard, not having you around to talk to any more," he said, looking back at the floor.

Sirius smiled, "Come here, Harry," he said. Moving towards Harry.

Harry smiled and walked over to his godfather. Harry threw his arms around his godfather. Harry stood there with his arms around Sirius thinking how much he was glad that he was back. He wished that he could just stay this way forever. Though he knew that would never happen, he was just content to stay here for as long as he could. But one thing was for certain; he was definitely getting addicted to these hugs!

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They both walked back down the hall and into the room where their group was. When they walked through the door Remus was quick to get up.

"Harry, I-"

Harry shook his head, "It's alright Remus, no harm done."

But Remus continued, "No it isn't alright, I never should have said that. It was your business and I never should have done what I did. Forgive me, Harry? I was stupid, I'm sorry."

Harry saw that Remus was indeed sorry, and could hear the desperation in his voice, "It's alright Remus, I'm in a forgiving mood today," he said. Harry smiled, trying to get Remus to feel better.

Remus smiled back, though still upset at himself for telling Sirius what had happened. He suddenly remembered what he was going to ask Sirius about, "Sirius could I talk to you really quickly outside?"

Sirius looked at Harry, who nodded slightly, though hardly noticeable to anyone else in the room, "Sure, Remy," he said.

Remus cringed, "Ugh, Sirius you know I hate that name!" he said.

Sirius smirked, "But we always used to call you that."

Remus glared, "No, my mother used to call me that," he said with another shutter. "You call me Moony, and you don't look like my mother."

Sirius smiled, "Well, are we going outside or not, Remy?" he asked putting special emphasis on the last word.

Lupin sighed, "Why my mother had to say that…" he said in a whisper to himself, everyone chucked. "OK, fine, before I wish I hadn't asked," he said walking to the door.

Sirius smirked, and held the door open for his friend. Once Remus was out of eyesight Sirius turned around, smiled wide, and with a wink, closed the door.

The laughter that had built up exploded, the three kids in the room laughed their heads off.

Once outside, before the two men could take one step they heard the three teens laughing hysterically. Sirius turned to a now red looking Remus. He smirked at his friend who glared back in response.

Remus started forward and walked into the next room down the hall. He walked in and Sirius followed behind and shut the door. He saw Remus take out his wand, 'Oh, no, he's going to curse me,' Sirius thought. But Remus just put silencing charms on the room. Remus turned to face his friend.

"Listen, you remember the idea I had about the memories?" he asked Sirius, who nodded in consent. "I have been thinking. Since you're on the run you can't very well go to Diagon Ally and buy one. And I really don't want to go out, I'd rather stay here and spend some time with you and Harry. So, I was thinking we should ask Dumbledore if he wouldn't mind going and buying it for us."

Sirius smiled, "OK, that sounds good. We could start thinking of what memories to put in. But for now why don't you go and ask Dumbledore and tell him I will pay him back later."

Remus nodded his head, "Ok, you go back to your godson, and I'll be back," he told Sirius, as he took the charms off the room.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius said, as his friend walked out the door. Remus turned around, "I'm sorry about earlier. I only did that because you were being a git," Sirius told his friend.

Remus smiled lightly, "That's fine, Sirius. Just don't do it too often."

Sirius smirked as he went to the left and up the stairs, and Remus went to the right and down the stairs.

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Remus turned towards the kitchen and walked quickly down the stairs. He didn't know if Albus had left yet and wanted to be sure to catch him before he did. Remus opened the door and to his relief, Dumbledore was finishing talking with Molly about something.

Albus turned his head slightly towards the door to see Remus walk in. Remus held his hand up to say 'finish what you're doing, it can wait.' Dumbledore nodded his head and continued with Molly.

Remus leaned against the wall as he collected his thoughts. Not a minute later Albus was done talking with Molly and was walking towards him. Remus walked over to Albus, "Hello, Albus. I was wondering if I could ask a favor."

Dumbledore smiled, "Of course, what might the favor be?"

Remus smiled, "Well, Sirius and I had the idea to tell Harry what his parents were like. But, instead of telling him stories I thought we could show him. But for that, we need a pensive. Sirius wants to buy Harry a pensive for his birthday, but seeing as how he's on the run, I was wondering if you could buy the pensive for us and Sirius would pay you back later.

Dumbledore nodded his head, "I believe I could do that. When would you like it by?" he asked.

Remus thought for a moment, "Probably in 3 weeks or so. We need some time to figure out what memories to put in. But 3 weeks should be alright, no hurry."

Albus nodded his head, "Alright, I think I can arrange that. But, I'm afraid that I need to be somewhere. So, I'll see you later, Remus."

"Good-bye, Sir."

Dumbledore nodded his head and walked out of the room.

Remus walked back up the stairs. Thinking which memories they should put in the pensive for Harry. Just thinking of Harry's face when he sees the memories made him smile. But then the smile vanished, wishing that he didn't need only memories to hold onto, that Lily and James were here to tell him stories themselves. He was outside Harry and Ron's room before he knew it. He collected himself before he knocked, and then walked inside.

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	5. Escape and Demise

Chapter 5

Harry looked up as Remus walked in, and frowning, Harry asked, "Are you alright, Remus?"

Remus looked at Harry and saw the concern in his eyes, and he had to smile; James had the same perception of knowing when someone was feeling down.

"I'm fine, Harry. Just doing some thinking is all."

Harry didn't look convinced, but let the subject drop.

"So, what _are_ we going to do?" Ginny asked.

Harry smiled. "Well, is there anyway that we can fly?" he asked, looking at Remus and Sirius.

Sirius shook his head, "No, Harry, I'm sorry. There is a backyard, but you can't fly, someone may see you," he said apologetically.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Harry said, frowning.

Hermione smiled. "Well, we could do homework!"

All the other teens turned to look at Hermione as if she was crazy.

"Ok, fine, no homework," she said, sighing and sitting down.

"You still have homework to do, Hermione?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. "Yeah," but she quickly added, "But it's only the other half of Professor McGonagall's essay."

The teens, and adults, rolled their eyes. "Well," Remus said, "I'm going to go ask Albus a quick question, to see if it's alright, then I'll be back," he told the youngsters.

"What? What is it?" Ron asked.

Remus smiled, "I'll let you know, but only if it's alright with Professor Dumbledore. I don't want to get your hopes up. I'll be back soon," and he walked out of the room.

"I wonder what he's thinking of doing?" Ron asked the group.

"Not sure, but it had better be good, seeing as how he had to keep it secret from us!" Ginny said, her smiling belying her tone.

"Well, I guess we can just count cracks on the ceiling until he comes back," Ron said, looking up and starting to count. "One, two, three-

"OUCH! Hermione!"

"Oops, sorry, I meant to hit your head."

"That's what you hit!" Ron grouched, rubbing the spot where Hermione threw a piece of parchment.

"Oh, come on, Ron, it's just a piece of parchment," Harry told his friend.

"Oh, yeah?" Ron asked, looking around for the parchment. Having located it, he then chucked it at Harry. The parchment flew right over Harry's head, without him even having to duck.

"Good shot, Ron," Ginny said with a smile.

"What do you expect, he's a guy, Ginny," Hermione said, smirking at the boy.

"Hey!" Ron, Harry, and Sirius said.

"I resemble that remark!" Sirius said, with a completely serious face.

The teens gave him a very confused and puzzled look, but before they could say anything, Ron started laughing so hard that he fell back onto the floor.

Everyone looked at him and asked if he was alright. When he had composed himself, he looked at Sirius and said, "I got it!" Then everyone started howling with laughter. And that was the sight that Remus Lupin walked in on.

"Well, well, what's going on here?" he asked.

Harry was the only one able to control himself for a moment to explain the situation, and when he was done explaining it, Remus, too, was in fits of laughter. Finally, they all calmed down enough to be able to look at each other without starting a laughing fit again. Remus smiled and said, "Why don't we go downstairs? Molly probably has fixed lunch and is waiting for all of us to come down."

Everyone nodded in agreement and walked down, chuckling the whole way. Sirius grabbed Harry and gave him a knuckle sandwich, and Harry protested with, "Hey!" Sirius laughed and they walked down with the rest of the group.

Sitting down to a delicious lunch prepared by Mrs. Weasley, the group started talking about the up and coming semester and what classes they would have.

All of a sudden, Snape came bursting into the kitchen and quickly said, "Where's Albus?"

Mrs. Weasley quickly said, "He's not here, he said he had to leave. Why, what's wrong?"

Snape swore under his breath, seemed to consider something, and having made up his mind, began. "Everyone needs to leave and go to Hogwarts. Somehow, the Dark Lord knows about Grimmauld Place, and he's planning on coming and taking anyone and anything that's here. We need to move, and move fast."

The way he calmly, yet frantically, spoke that statement made everyone decide that time was of the essence, and they all ran up the stairs to pack.

"How did the Death Eaters to find out about Grimmauld Place? Or better yet, how did he find out _where_ it is?" Harry asked Ron, while they were grabbing items from around the room and stuffing them in their trunks.

"No idea, no one is suppose to be able to find this place unless Dumbledore tells them, if I remember what Moody said correctly," Ron replied, stuffing his clothes as best he could into his trunk.

Sirius came in with his trunk and asked, "You guys ready?"

Harry said, "One second," then he shoved his last book into his trunk. He turned around and jumped on top of the top of his trunk. "Now I'm ready," he said. Pulling his trunk behind him, Sirius nodded and walked down to the kitchen with Ron in tow.

On the way down, Harry noticed that the house was back to it's original state before they had worked so hard last summer to clean it; it looked like no one had lived in it for decades. When they got to the kitchen, they found the same conditions there as they had on the way down.

"Everyone ready?"

Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley; she had handfuls of parchments and several bags hanging from her arms, which were filled to the brim with items he had never even seen before. Everyone else finally came into the room and Remus said, "Looks like it."

Molly took a deep breath and said, "Alright, Severus, if you would."

Snape brought one of the umbrellas from the front door and everyone grabbed hold. Once the last person grabbed hold of the umbrella, the portkey activated and they were on their way back to Hogwarts, though in Harry's least favorite form of transportation. But with Sirius and Remus bumping along beside him, he knew it was all good.

Finally coming to a screeching halt, Harry felt his feet hit the ground, then he felt his knees meet the floor.

"You alright, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Wincing, Harry said, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Why don't you go on to your dormitory, and we'll wait for Dumbledore," Remus told the teens.

Then, all of a sudden, Dumbledore appeared, holding onto Fawkes, his phoenix.

"Albus!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "What is going on? Severus came to the house and said something about You-Know-Who knowing where we were!"

"Molly, please calm down. I will explain everything momentarily," he told her in his calm voice.

He then turned to the teens. "I need you all to please go to Gryffindor tower and stay there until Sirius and Remus come up," he told them gently, knowing that they would be reluctant to go. But he knew that only one teen would have trouble leaving, and that was Harry.

Harry sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay with Sirius forever, but it was still hard for him to leave without his godfather. But he wouldn't let any of them know that he felt this way, least of all Sirius. He didn't want them to think that he was unable to take care of himself and that he needed his godfather for every little thing.

"Alright, let's go, guys," Harry told his friends, and started walking away from the person that he most wanted to walk toward. He dared not look back, for he knew if he did, he would falter and would not be able to leave without his godfather. The only way he knew that his friends were following were the soft whispers and sound of their feet touching the ground.

He couldn't stand the thought of them talking about him like that, literally behind his back. He wanted to run and hide until his godfather was out of the meeting with Dumbledore, but he knew he couldn't.

_Why can't I?_ he thought to himself. _They're already talking about me, and they know what's going on. I'm sure my leaving without saying goodbye to Sirius was a huge sign, so why can't I leave them?_

Harry thought for a moment longer, not realizing that he had stopped walking, and so had his friends, but once again started walking.

_Because they would only talk more. More of how poor little Harry can't stand to be away from his godfather._

So knowing he had to just wait it out, he led the group to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

When they got there, the Fat Lady looked confused. "Why are you here?" she asked the teens.

"Dumbledore told us to come here," Harry told the portrait.

The Fat Lady frowned. "Well, I shall go talk to him, but for now, you may enter. But after I talk to the Headmaster, you will not be allowed in without a password," she told them, opening the way to the common room.

"Thanks," Harry said as they walked to their new home for the summer. Harry couldn't help but smile when he looked around at the place he had called home for so many years. "Even under the circumstances, it's great to be back," Harry said, looking around at the group.

Everyone nodded their heads. "But, how did the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who find the headquarters?" Ginny asked.

The group looked around at each other, then found a place to sit and think. More than likely the adults knew, or were finding out soon, who gave up their location, and they would, in turn, find out.

"Who could have done it, though?" Hermione asked. "Only Dumbledore can tell others where HQ is. So who could have told them?"

"It was Kreacher."

The teens quickly looked at the portrait hole to see Sirius standing there with a disgusted look on his face. "That despicable house elf decided that because I was 'dead', he could go do whatever he wanted, so he went to the Malfoy's and told them where we were."

The Gryffindors looked at each other in astonishment. "What's going to happen to Kreacher?" Hermione asked, a concerned look on her face.

Everyone rolled their eyes. "How could you defend that animal when he ratted us out?" Ron asked, appalled.

Before Hermione could get a word in, Sirius quickly said, "Hermione, listen, I know you want to help the house elves, and I think that's very nice of you to do. But Kreacher is a special case; he's a rat, a thief, and a spy for all intents and purposes. Do you really feel sorry for him?" he asked her.

Hermione bit her lip. "Surprisingly, I don't. I was just wondering if he was going to be allowed to give more information out on the Order."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up and their eyes went wide.

"You mean you're not going to defend him?" Ron asked.

Hermione gave Ron one of those looks that said, 'What do you take me for?' and said, "Just because I want to help house elves, doesn't mean I think all of them are good. I mean, really, would I want to help someone who had betrayed Sirius and then gave up the Order? Do you really think I'm that horrible?" she asked Ron.

Before anyone could answer, Harry screamed and fell out of his chair and onto the floor.

"Harry!" everyone screamed, running over to him.

Harry was unaware of any of this, for at the moment, he was feeling every bit of rage Voldemort felt against the Order. He saw Voldemort arrive at Grimmauld Place and find that the house looked as if it hadn't been used in years. Voldemort thought he would finally capture and kill the famous Harry Potter, but when he found the house completely void of people, he turned to the house elf that had led them there, and quickly killed the elf for leading him on a wild goose chase.

Harry heard someone continuously yell, "Harry," but that was all he knew before he allowed the black abyss of unconsciousness to overcome him.

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Hey all! I'm so sorry for how long it's been. To be honest I haven't been in the mood to write, and school has been a pain too. I'm so sorry! I hope to be able to get more chapters out sooner than this one was. I know it's kind of short, but I hope it'll tide you all over till the next chapter. And now that I have gotten back into writing, the next chapter will be out soon (not to mention I'll have spring break in a week!)! Thanks for hanging in there for a while!


	6. Flying Fun

Chapter 6

The next thing Harry knew, he was in a soft bed and the room vaguely smelt of cinnamon. Groaning, Harry tried to sit up but found a hand against his chest, making him lie back down.

"Careful Harry," he heard a familiar voice say. "You've been out for a few hours."

"Sirius?" he asked, recognizing the voice.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Where is everyone?" he questioned.

"Getting some dinner. We missed lunch with all the drama of leaving Grimmuald Place, so I offered to stay behind in case you woke up," he explained. Sirius smiled, "You feel up to heading on down?"

Harry tested his various body parts for control, and he found that his limbs were responding, so he said, "Sure, I'll try," sitting up. He tried to stand but his knees buckled below him and Sirius was quick to catch him before he fell.

"Careful there, kiddo, don't hurt yourself," Sirius said, taking some of the weight off of Harry.

"What's wrong with me?" he said, not expecting an answer.

"There's nothing wrong with you," a voice said from the doorway.

Harry and Sirius looked at to the door and saw Professor Dumbledore standing right outside the doorway. He walked inside and told Harry to sit down. "Harry, you have a special link with Voldemort that no one else has. It is both a blessing and a curse. You were able to see when Arthur Weasley was in trouble and save him. But also, at the same time, you have to endure great pain and suffering for your link with Voldemort," Dumbledore looked to Sirius.

Harry looked down at the ground, he knew the unspoken words that the Headmaster was not willing, or able to say, that the curse is also that Voldemort had allowed Harry to see where Sirius was 'being tortured' and had him running at full speed to get to him; and in turn, helped get Sirius killed.

"Harry?"

He sighed, he knew what the elder wizard wanted, but how could he even look him in the eyes after what he did to Sirius? It had been a month or so ago, yes, but the fact was that it still bothered him.

"Harry, I'm going to ask that we re-start your Occlumency lessons as soon as possible," Dumbledore told him.

If there was a way to get Harry's head to jump from the ground to Dumbledore's face, that was the thing to say. "WHAT?! I can't do that with Snape! Remember what happened last time?" he asked.

Dumbledore laughed, "Harry, I'm not going to have _Professor_ Snape practice Occlumency with you this time. This time I'm going to do what I should have done last year, and I'm going to help teach you myself."

Harry's eyes went wide, "Really?" he asked, slightly relieved, but still a bit nervous, that means that Dumbledore would have access to his mind. But he was glad that he was pretty good at protecting his mind. But also, Dumbledore's the most powerful wizard in the world, he would probably be able to defeat any barrier he could put up. But it would be beneficial for him to have Dumbledore do it, that way, if Voldemort tries, there's no way he can get through. "That sounds great, Professor, thanks," he told the older wizard with a smile.

"Harry, if you would please tell me what happened a few hours ago?" Dumbledore asked the small teen.

Harry nodded, "Well, we were talking and then all of a sudden my head exploded, and I saw Voldemort enter Grimmuald Place and found the house as it was before we got there. He sent his Death Eaters out to see if we were hiding anywhere, but when they all came back empty handed, he turned to Kreacher and killed him because he led them to the wrong place, or so he thought,"

Dumbledore nodded, "So we won't have to worry about him going to Grimmuald Place anymore, Harry?" he asked.

Harry thought for a moment, "No, I don't believe so. After being humiliated like that, I don't think he'll be keen to go back if someone else goes to him and tells him again," he thought for a second, then smiled, "He'd probably kill the guy who told him without even listening to him,"

"That would probably happen, but I'm afraid I will have to tighten security in the Order anyways, so as not to have the same occurrence," he said.

Harry smiled, "Well, I'm sure Dobby wouldn't mind helping out, and he would never to go Voldemort,"

Dumbledore smiled back, "Yes that is true. But for now, I believe you need some food, Harry. And I'm sure you're friends are waiting to see you, so why don't we all go down to the Great Hall for some dinner?" he asked.

Sirius helped Harry stand, and they walked down to the Great Hall.

Once they went inside, the smells of the food made Harry walk a bit faster toward his group of friends and to the food.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled, running to him and throwing her arms around him.

Harry found his face heating up slightly, but he was confused until she said, "Don't ever do that to us again! You scared the living daylights out of us!" she held on to him tight until Hermione said, "Ok, Ginny, I think he got the message," they could hear the laughter in her voice.

Ginny pulled away and gave Harry a serious look, "What happened?" she asked, bringing him to the table.

Harry smirked, she started putting food onto his plate for him, "I'm fine, Ginny, really. Voldemort just was angry, that's all," he told his friends. He looked around and saw the confusion on their faces, he explained further, "I can feel what Voldemort is feeling, and if he's really angry I can see what's going on," he told them, picking up his fork.

"Did you see anything?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," he told them, putting down his fork. "Voldemort went to Grimmuald Place and found out that we weren't there, that it looked like no one had been there for ages," he sighed. "But at least we don't have to worry about Kreacher, Voldemort was so angry that he killed him on the spot."

Harry looked up and saw happiness mixed with sadness reflected in Hermione's eyes, and he saw the others mirroring the same emotions, except with less sadness, "Well, at least he can't give any more information out on the Order," Ron said.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. But seeing the look on Hermione's face, went over to her friend, "I know you feel bad, Hermione. But think about all the information he could have given You-Know-Who,"

Hermione nodded, "I know, but if he was treated properly before this wouldn't have happened,"

"But there's nothing we could have done about that, Hermione," Harry told her reasonably. "There wasn't anything anyone could have done. Sirius' mum was as mean a witch as you can get. You've heard Sirius talk about her, you know what she was like, do you think she would have taken time out of her day to make sure that Kreacher was having a good time? No, because she didn't even care about her own son, why would she care about a house elf that wasn't very nice anyways?"

Hermione nodded, "I know, but still," she said quietly.

"How about we go do some flying before we turn in?" Ginny suggested, changing the topic.

Everyone, minus Hermione, jumped up and said "Yes!" They all got up and went outside. Walking out the sun was setting, giving the grounds a red glow, each summoned their brooms. Harry summoned a broom for Hermione once his got there, "Here you go, Hermione," he said, giving her the summoned broom.

"But, I'm no good at flying," she told them.

"It's alright, we're just having fun!" Ron told her, laughing while watching her get on the broom, for she was having a bit of trouble getting mounted.

Harry took pity on her and went over to help, after showing her how to get on properly, he mounted his broom and as one they all shot into the sky. Looking back, he saw Hermione trying her best to stay on the broom. She looked close to screaming for dear life, but before he could go help her, Ron came up and calmed her down. Sharing a look with Ginny, he smiled, how those two didn't know that the other was interested in them was beyond him.

He looked at Ginny and he thought to himself, '_Merlin, she's beautiful,_' but he mentally shook his head, _She's Ron's sister! I can't like Ron's sister! He'd kill me number one and two, he'd kill me!_ But looking into Ginny's laughing eyes he thought, _But maybe he wouldn't care? He wouldn't want just anyone dating his sister. I guess I'll just have to take a chance and ask him._ "Let's go join the lovebirds," Ginny said, flying in the direction of the two talking teens.

Harry looked after her, she was very beautiful, even in flight. Realizing he was the only one there, he flew over to the rest of his friends and was just in time to hear, "Just kiss her already, Ron!" from Ginny.

He quickly looked over to his best friend and saw his face redden. Then looking to his other friend he saw her look at Ron as if to find an answer to the validity of Ginny's statement. Then, apparently finding the answer, she smiled and reached over and kissed Ron. Ron looked stunned, and Ginny looked at Harry who looked just as stunned as Ron did. He saw Hermione open one eye and give Ginny a look, he couldn't define the look, but he looked at Ginny and saw a look of apprehension cross her face, but it was quickly gone replaced with a smile. He looked at her, confused, but she just shook her head and put a finger to her lips and motioned to the ground.

Getting the picture he nodded and they raced to the ground, leaving their snogging friends in the air. Once out of ground and out of earshot of their friends, they started laughing hysterically.

"It took them long enough!" they both said. Looking up, they erupted into another fresh fit of laughter. Finally controlling themselves, they looked up at the other and just looked deeply into the other's eyes. "Ginny,-" Harry started, but stopped.

Ginny smiled, looked up at the still snogging couple in the air, then back at Harry. She took a step forward, and Harry did the same, looking into the other's eyes as if hypnotized.

Harry didn't even think twice, looking into her sparkling brown eyes, glistening with the last rays of sunlight coming over the horizon, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss, as if she was made of priceless porcelain.

Pulling away from each other, they smiled, Harry blushing slightly, "Took us long enough too, I guess," Ginny said, chuckling.

Harry nodded, "What happened?" he asked her.

Ginny closed her eyes and laughed, "Hermione," she stated simply. "She knew I liked you, and wanted me to take some action but I was afraid that you didn't like me that way, and just as a little sister. But Hermione tried to tell me to ask you, or do something," she shrugged. "But I was doing the same with her, and she also didn't know if Ron liked her that way, even though I told her he did. Guess it took till now for her to realize that."

Harry smiled, and looked behind him to see Ron and Hermione just now flying toward the ground, eyes wide he said, "How they stayed up there that long is beyond me,"

Hermione and Ron came over, flushed, "Hey guys, I love flying don't you?" Hermione asked.

Harry smirked and laughed, "Yeah, I do, but not for the same reasons as yours,"

"So how is everything?" Hermione asked Ginny.

Ginny smiled secretively, and Hermione screamed, then ran to her friend and gave her a hug.

Harry looked over at Ron and he had a questioning look on his face, until Hermione said, "It's about time!" Then Ron looked at Ginny, then back at Harry a few times. Seeing the look on Harry's face that said, 'Please don't kill me,' and Ron smiled and jumped in the air, "Yahoo! Finally, mate, what took you so long?"

After getting over his shock Harry said, "I could ask the same of you,"

Ron smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, but I mean, you guys were meant to be together!" Ron told him. Ron stopped, his smile gone, he looked like he was thinking about something, then all of a sudden he laughed then said, "Wait till mum finds out! She'll have kittens!"

Hermione laughed, "Let's go find everyone, Ron,"

"No, come on guys, not now," Harry asked.

But Ron and Hermione exchanged evil glances and then ran towards the entrance hall, laughing. Ginny and Harry exchanged horrified glances, thinking of Ron and Hermione bursting into the Great Hall and screaming, 'Harry and Ginny are together!', made the two run after them, screaming their names.

Ron and Hermione got to the door before Harry and Ginny and were inside quickly. Ginny and Harry sped up, and quickly entered the castle. Once inside, they saw the door to the Great Hall close and they ran to it, opened the doors, and screamed, "Don't!"

But the sight they ran in on, made Harry and Ginny blush crimson.

"Don't what, Ginny, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, curious.

Harry and Ginny gave each other horrified glances, then looked to find Hermione and Ron, and they were no where to be found. "Uh, nothing, Mrs. Weasley. Where are Ron and Hermione? We thought we saw them run in here,"

"And why would you run in after them screaming 'Don't' on the top of your lungs?" Sirius asked his embarrassed godson.

"Uh," Harry started. Harry shared a look with Ginny, saying what they couldn't aloud. "Well, you see," he said, backing up slightly. "Ron and Hermione decided that they wanted to spill some very valuable information to you," he continued, still backing up. "But, now that we see Hermione and Ron aren't here-" By that time they were close enough to the door that Harry and Ginny turned around and bolted out the door.

Harry led the way, and Ginny followed him. Harry led the way down corridor after corridor, after making another turn, Ginny realized where they were going and picked up speed. After making the last turn, they saw the tapestries in sight. Ginny stopped short of Harry and let him walk past three times and watch the door appear. Harry motioned her inside, and once inside he quickly closed the door.

Sighing with relief, Harry pointed to the armchairs that were in the room decorated to look like the Gryffindor common room. Sitting down in front of the fire, he looked at Ginny and smiled, "So, how exactly are we going to tell everyone?" he asked.

She smiled, "I'm sure Ron and Hermione will take care of it," she said. "After, of course, they indulge them with their new found relationship as well."


	7. A Lovely Talk

Chapter 7

Ginny stirred from her sleep. She started to stretch and she felt something fall off of her back. When she looked, she noticed that it was her jacket. Then she realized that she was laying on something. The previous night's events rose into her mind and she smiled. She then realized that she was laying on Harry's lap and that he probably was going to be sore this morning. But she felt energized and joyful. She tried to sit up gently without waking him but wasn't able to.

"Morning, Ginny," she heard him say.

_He must be a light sleeper, _she thought. She sat up and smiled and replied back, "Good morning, Harry," and gave him a good morning kiss.

Harry smiled and said, "So, we should probably get back to the common room, they'll be looking for us," while looking at his watch.

Ginny jumped up. "We've been gone all night! What will they say?" she exclaimed, grabbing her jacket from the floor, and putting it on.

Harry stood, groaning the whole way.

Ginny cringed in sympathy. "Sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you," she apologized.

Harry stretched, "It's alright," he yawned. "We'd better get going or we're going to be late for breakfast." Then he realized. "We didn't have dinner last night!"

Ginny then heard her stomach growl and smiled, "I think my stomach agrees. Let's go," she said, grabbing Harry's hand, and they walked down to the Great Hall.

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Hermione smiled, when she saw Harry and Ginny walk into the Great Hall, hand in hand. She nudged Ron and he looked over to the doors and smiled too. They shared a knowing glance when they came over and sat down they smiled at the new couple.

"Hey, guys, where have you been?" Hermione asked, as if she didn't know that they had slept in the Room of Requirement.

Not looking at each other Ginny and Harry simply said, "Talking."

Ron smirked and replied, "Talking?"

"Yeah," Harry said, joining the conversation. He sat down and watched as Hermione and Ron shared a look. "What?" he asked.

They looked back at him. "Nothing, just thinking about something we were talking about last night, about classes," Hermione said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Mhm," Ron said, his mouth full of food.

Harry knew that that wasn't what they were talking about, but he decided to leave it at that. Sharing a quick look with Ginny he smiled and piled food onto his plate.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up and pondered for a moment, but before he could answer, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see Sirius standing behind him.

"Hey, Sirius," Harry greeted his godfather.

"Hello, Harry. You just about done?" he asked.

Harry looked at his plate, which had a few pieces of French toast, and shook his head. "I haven't even gotten started yet."

Sirius nodded his head. "Ok, well, when you're done, come meet me in my rooms."

Giving Sirius a curious look, Harry asked, "Ok, any particular reason?"

There seemed to be an uncomfortable look in his eyes that he was trying to hide as he said, "No, not really." Then he said, "Just come see me when you're done. The password is Marauding," he said with a smile and a wink. Then he walked toward the teacher's table.

Harry watched him as he walked up and quickly talked with Remus. Remus nodded his head, took one last bite from his plate, wiped his mouth, and then followed Sirius out of the Great Hall. Harry shook his head went back to filling his plate. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ginny looking after the two men with a confused look on her face.

He turned his head as she asked, "What was that all about?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "No idea. I guess I'll have to finish up and go see."

So he ate his fill while talking with Ron and Hermione, then said goodbye and walked back to his godfather's quarters.

He was quite curious to see what was going on and what had made Sirius look so uncomfortable, but he didn't have long to wait, for soon, he was at the portrait to Sirius's rooms. He smiled as he said the password that Sirius had given him and he walked in.

Not surprising, Remus was sitting on the couch with Sirius, looking expectantly at Harry.

"Hello, Remus."

"Harry," he said, nodding in greeting. "Why don't you come sit down?"

Harry knew that this wasn't a request, but walked over to the chair that Remus pointed to. "What's up?" he asked. "Am I in trouble for something?" His mind quickly skidding back to the morning and waking up in Ginny's arms. Remus and Sirius shared a look and then looked back at Harry. "Uh, oh," Harry said, slouching slightly in his chair.

Remus and Sirius snickered and then Remus clearly told Sirius to start with the look he gave Harry's godfather.

The smirk on Sirius' face slipped off quite quickly. He sent a pleading look at his best friend who shook his head and said softly, "You're his godfather, Sirius."

"So are you!"

"No I'm not…"

"You know James would have made us co-Godfathers if he could have! Just because of that stupid law."

"Remus," Harry interrupted. When he had both of the men's attention he continued. "I really do think of you both as my Godfathers. I have for a long time now."

"See, he agrees with me," Sirius said with smile.

Remus smiled and there was a lightness in his eyes that Harry definitely picked up on. His heart soared as he realized that his small comment had made Remus so happy.

"Thank you, Harry." He turned to Sirius, still with a small smile, and said, "Sirius, you have the official title, so it should be your responsibility."

Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, as if preparing himself for something he wished he could run from.

"What have you been told about sex?"

Harry doubled over in laughter in his chair. Remus and Sirius exchanged confused expressions and turned back to Harry.

Harry was still laughing when he looked back up to the remaining Marauders, but when he saw their faces, he quickly stopped. "You're serious?"

Sirius was about to say something when Remus quickly elbowed him in the ribs, which emitted a groan from the older man. "Yes, Harry, we are quite serious," he said, with a slight glare at Sirius. Sirius smiled through the pain, and so did Harry.

Harry blushed deeply. "Uh, nothing really," he confessed.

Sirius smacked his head with his hand and Remus then smacked Sirius upside the head. Sirius looked up, a tinge of red coming to his cheeks.

Harry looked back and forth between the two men, trying to find out if they were playing some game with him, or if they were deathly serious about broaching this subject. "Uh, guys," Harry started with a nervous laugh. "I know enough to know that it's not something I want to do right now," he said, the blush still tingeing his cheeks.

Remus smiled, and Harry thought he could hear some sympathy in his voice, "Nice try, Harry, but seeing as how you have never had the 'birds and the bees' talk, I think it's past time we give you one."

Harry groaned. He knew just enough about these specific types of talks to know that it wasn't something that was fun to listen to, let alone talk about. He had heard his aunt and uncle talking to Dudley about it several years ago, and that was about all the information he had on the topic. All he knew was it was something grown ups did, something they did after marriage, and something that he was not going to do, at least not now. He also knew that Dudley hadn't liked it because he had heard them arguing because he had been in his cupboard for not finishing his chores. But after about a five minute talk, they were done and Dudley was able to go back to watching his TV. Harry was sure that Dudley hadn't pay much attention during that discussion.

Harry knew from the looks on the two older men's faces that it wasn't a discussion that they were keen to have either, but there was a look of determination on Remus' face that told him that he would not be getting out of it. So he sighed, leaned back and prepared himself for the conversation.

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Two hours later.

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Harry sat wide eyed and his mouth slightly agape. How people could talk so much about a topic that made them so red in the face was beyond him. He was sure that his face would permanently have a red tinge to it after the things he heard, but he was sure that it was completely normal and expected by the two men.

Sirius had tried to start the discussion but ended up giving the reigns to Remus, who had sighed and begun. Harry had been given several…interesting pamphlets during the course of the talk. And Sirius kept trying to sneak a peak at them when Remus wasn't looking. But when he was caught, Remus would smack him upside the head and continue with his discussion.

"Any questions?"

Harry stared at the man and blinked once, his mouth still slightly open.

Remus chuckled and said, "Alright then, now that we've got that cleared up, and you don't have any questions, I think you can go back to the dormitory."

Harry nodded, then stood and left the room in a dazed state. He didn't know if he could ever look at girls the same way again. He wished that Remus and Sirius had never had that conversation with him, and just let him find out on his own, but now he was headed back to the dormitory where Ginny and Hermione were. Harry shuddered. He really needed to get his mind off of that topic. So he decided to summon his broom.

Once his broom was in hand, he found the nearest window, opened it, and flew out the window, leaving the pamphlets behind him next to the open window. He made a mental note to make a quick once through and unless there was any reason to keep them, he would burn them when he got back to the common room.

After flying around the pitch for a while, catching up on the practice that he could not do at the Dursleys, he spotted a glint of gold by the highest goal post on the other side of the stadium and realized that it was the snitch. He didn't even think about how it could have gotten out but quickly darted toward it, effectively forgetting everything. After weaving in and out of posts and over the stands for a minute, he was able to capture the snitch.

Shouting triumphantly, he circled the stadium. Then he noticed for the first time someone sitting in the stands watching him. It took only a moment for him to recognize Ginny. Forgetting the past two and a half hours he smiled and flew down to meet her.

Ginny smiled as Harry landed next to her in the stands. "What's going on?" she asked.

Harry smiled as he got off the broom. "Nothing, just came out for some flying is all. How did you know I was here?"

"I saw your broom come flying down the stairs from the boy's dorm and out the portrait hole. I decided to come and watch, then see if you'd see the snitch and how long it would take you to catch it."

Harry smirked. "Well, thank you for the practice."

Ginny smirked and Harry tilted his head questioningly. Ginny pulled out from behind her back some booklets. Harry took one look at them and his eyes went wide and he quickly drew his wand and said, "Accio!"

Blushing profusely, he jumped on his broom, left the snitch, and flew back to the open window, jumped inside, closed it, then ran as fast as he could to the sixth floor with the pamphlets in his right hand and broom on his left shoulder. Once he got there, he quickly walked back and forth three times and walked into the Gryffindor Common Room. He ran over to the fireplace and sat down in the chair in front of it, catching his breath. He did a quick skim of the stuff and quickly found that he didn't need any of them and threw them in the fireplace. He sighed with satisfaction as he watched them burn into ashes.

Leaning back in the chair, Harry closed his eyes. Running that much had drained him of his energy, not to mention the fact that he had listened to Remus and Sirius talk for two hours straight about sex. That alone would make him want to go to sleep and not wake up for many hours, trying to lose everything he had learned in his dreams. So he made himself comfortable and took a nap, telling himself he'd only sleep for a little while.

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Consciousness was slow in coming for Harry. He heard voices but could not place them or understand what they were saying. Soon he was able to make out what they were saying.

"Where else could he be? He's not on the map and we know he hasn't left the grounds!"

"But-"

"Oh, come on, Ron, help me!"

"She's right, that's the only explanation. Now we just need to find out how to get in there."

"Don't you know how?"

"We never found out how to be in there with someone else in it at the same time because no one else knew about it when we were in school. Though Remus said something about finding out how, but he never "

By now Harry realized who was talking: Ginny, Ron, and Sirius were all outside, trying to get in.

"But then, how do we get in? Do we just start banging on the wall in different spots and hope that he can hear us?"

Sirius joined the discussion too. Harry smiled and wondered what all the commotion was about, but when he looked at his watch, he realized with a start that it was close to dinner time. His stomach growled and he realized that he also missed lunch.

"We don't even know if he can hear us, Sirius," he heard Remus say.

"But then how are we going to check to see if he's in there?" Ron asked.

"Why didn't I think of it before?" he heard Ginny chastise herself. He heard silence then footsteps going back and forth.

He stretched just as the door opened. He smiled through his yawn at the crowd now gathered in the common room. "Hey guys," Harry said, standing up.

"So this is where you've been hiding?" Remus asked, a small smile on his face.

"Well, I wasn't hiding," he said. At the disbelieving looks on his friend's faces, he said, "Well, I wasn't! I just fell asleep."

Ginny met Harry's eyes and then had to look away, the morning's events in the room were forefront in their minds and the urge to laugh was too strong.

"Oh, ok," Sirius said. "Well, let's go then, dinner is going to be served soon." Sirius and Ron were the first people out of that room and down the hall before the rest of the Gryffindors could even get out of the room.

Harry laughed with everyone else, and they walked down to the Great Hall.

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Hey everyone!! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!!! I'm soooo sorry for taking this long! I can't believe myself! *knocks self with book on head* But here it is!! I don't know when I'll be posting again, hopefully sooner than this last update, but as I am very busy, even during the summer, I'm not sure. I hope to get my other story In the Way finished in the next week or so, as this next one is the last chapter, so I should have more time to write this story!

If you liked the chapter, please let me know! Whether it is just to say what part you enjoyed most, or what you think needs to be changed. Thank you to all who have cooperated with me…I know that I am very bad and need to work more on this story. Though I hope to have another one out in the next few weeks or month, hopefully few weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I really do appreciate your reviews more than words can say!!

-Jen


	8. New Information

Chapter 8

"They did WHAT?!"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"But, but…Why?" Ron sputtered out.

Harry blushed. "I don't know," he said unconvincingly.

Ron blinked at Harry and stared into the fire.

Harry sighed. Ron had asked what happened when Sirius asked Harry to see him and he wouldn't let it go so he caved and spilled the entire story – well – not the _entire_ story. But he had told him what they talked about at least, blushing profusely all the while as the memory of the event went to the forefront of his mind.

Ron's head suddenly snapped back to Harry. "It was because of my sister right?"

Harry's eyes widened. "What?"

"You and Ginny. You guys didn't come back to the common room. We wondered what happened, but thought you guys would come back soon enough," Ron said, thinking out loud. "What did you guys do?" he asked curiously.

Harry took his turn to gaze into the fire. He wondered whether or not he should tell Ron what happened. He also wondered, if he told him, if Ron would hit him, because he knew Ron was very protective of his younger sister.

"Well?"

Harry sighed. "Nothing," after the look he got from Ron he said quickly, "Really, nothing happened. We were talking and lost track of time."

"For the entire night?" Ron asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, we kinda lost track of time and," he mumbled the rest of the sentence.

Ron smirked. "What was that last bit, Harry?"

Harry flinched and said, "We lost track of time and fell asleep." He quickly put his arms up to protect himself when Ron decided to hit him.

"That's what I thought."

Harry looked up and gave Ron a surprised look. "What?"

Ron smirked. "Don't act so surprised. We all thought that you and Ginny should have gotten together years ago, and mum had always said that you two were made for each other. And we both know that you didn't do anything, because if you did, we would know."

Harry blinked owlishly at his best friend and then sighed in relief. Then the realization of what Ron said made him say, "Wait, what do you mean 'we would know'? How would you know?"

Ron smirked. "Just be sure not to do anything too…interesting with my sister, mate," he said, raising his eyebrow.

A thought hit Harry like a lightning bolt, _They have a curse on her._ Harry then smirked. "You know that's a great idea."

Ron's smirk left his face and he gave Harry a shocked look.

"No," he said quickly. "I guessed that there was a curse on Ginny, and I said that it was a great idea, that way, you know, she'd be alright," he finished awkwardly.

Ron smirked. "Well, it's not like she doesn't know about the curse. Every witch is born with it," Ron explained. "No one knows when it started, probably even before Merlin and the Founders."

"Really?" Harry asked, wanting to learn something new about the world he was apart of since he was 11.

"Yeah, when the girls of wizarding families are twelve years old, they are told about the curse, to make sure that they stay pure until marriage," Ron explained.

"But muggle borns have to find out by either doing some reading or by wizarding witches who know about it."

Ron and Harry looked around to see Hermione smiling at the two.

"So how'd you find out?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How do you think I found out?"

Harry and Ron shared a look and said together, "Reading."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction as the two boys rolled their eyes.

"What are you guys talking about?"

The trio turned and saw Ginny coming down the stairs from the girl's dormitory with a curious look. When Ginny saw Harry start blushing she got a small smile on her face and when she looked at Hermione she grew even more curious.

"Nothing," Ron told her quickly.

"And why don't I believe you?" Ginny asked as she stood next to Hermione.

Ron didn't even give her an answer as he looked at Harry and said getting up, "Well, I believe it's time for bed."

"True, it is pretty late. I guess we should head on to bed. Good night ladies," Harry said, while he and Ron walked up the stairs.

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Hey all, I hope you enjoyed it…I know it was really short, but it's all I could do.


	9. In Trouble

Chapter 9

Several days had gone by, in which time Harry had gotten over the embarrassing situation with Ginny and both of his Godfathers. Harry was having the best summer of his life. He was at the place that he considered his home, and was with Sirius more often than not. And when he wasn't with Sirius and his friends, he was with Ginny and their relationship was budding.

They spent a quite a bit of time outside, within the safety of the grounds and with cooling charms all around. Flying, homework, and relaxing became their daily routine. Hermione, having finished her homework long before the others, helped out while everyone else tried to hurry the work along so that homework could be scratched off the list and flying and relaxing could become the only activities they had to worry about; aside from eating and sleeping, of course.

Harry laughed carelessly as Fred secretly started changing Ron's appearance. Ron's red hair changed to green and then to white without him even noticing. Only until everyone else started to laugh did Ron run to a mirror in the common room to look at his reflection.

Ron stared blankly at his reflection before saying, "I don't get it! What are you all laughing at?"

Suddenly Ron sprouted a tail and roars of laughter erupted from behind him. He spun around to see everyone rolling on the floor laughing. Harry watched Ron turn back to the mirror before he stilled. Turning slowly around with his eyes still on the mirror, he saw what had caught his attention.

He had a tail.

"GEORGE!"

George roared with a new wave of hysterics as Ron lunged for his older brother. As Ron was smacking him around, George was yelling, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"Like hell it wasn't you! You always do these things to me!"

George had found a way to escape from underneath his younger brother and make a break for it. Just as Harry was up and running after the group toward the portrait, he fell to the ground as waves of pain thrashed against him.

Harry screamed as he hit the floor with his head in his hands. As suddenly as the pain came, it was gone. He looked up to see Ginny turning around with a huge smile on her face. Once she realized he still on the floor and in pain, she yelled, "Harry!" as she ran back to him.

"Harry! Are you all right?" she asked, concern thick in her voice.

"I am, but I don't know about Snape."

"Snape?" she asked, as the rest of their friends re-entered the common room and rushed over to the couple on the ground.

"Yeah, he called Snape to him. He's not happy about something." Harry started to become concerned. Even if it was Snape.

"What is he not happy about? That he hasn't killed you yet?" Ron asked.

Hermione spun around and hit him. "How dare you! Just because you don't like him doesn't mean that he's conspiring against the Order. He's protecting Harry just like the rest of the Order!"

"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ron conceded, rubbing his arm where his new girlfriend had hit him.

"Are you all right Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks."

Everyone looked at each other, as if wondering what to do next. Harry got tired of the silence and said, "Why don't we go flying?" After a moment of hesitation, they all agreed to an impromptu game of Quidditch.

"We won!"

"No you didn't, _we_ won! We had Harry and he caught the snitch!"

"But-"

"Give it up, Ron."

"But-"

Hermione rolled her eyes and decided to try to shut him up another way.

"Oh boy," Fred and George said, turning away from the kissing couple.

Harry turned to Ginny and rolled his eyes, and then smiled. She smiled back and gave him a quick kiss. "So now what?"

Ron answered the question as his stomach started to growl.

Laughter coursed through the group as they made their way back to the castle. "I guess we have our answer," Ginny said with a smile. Harry saw George motion to Fred, who nodded. Confused, Harry watched helplessly as Fred tackled Ron from behind and then bolted toward the castle.

"Fred! I'm going to kill you!" Ron yelled as he took off after his brother.

The rest of the group joined the race back to the castle, with Fred winning slightly. As the rest of the group burst into the Great Hall, Fred was already sitting down and filling his plate.

Truce called for the moment, the group sat down and enjoyed their dinner over laughs and conversation.

After finishing his plate, Harry yawned. "Hey, guys. I'm going to head up early."

"Now? It's not even dark yet," Fred asked, confused.

"It's been a long day," Harry explained.

Ron and Hermione both nodded, realizing what he meant. "Go on, Harry. We'll see you in the morning. Have a good night."

"Thanks, Hermione. See you guys tomorrow," he said, standing and making his way out of the Great Hall and toward his bed.

On the way, he bumped into Sirius. "Where are you off to, Harry? Where's the rest of the gang?"

"I'm turning in early. It's been a long day and I'm tired."

"Oh, all right then. Have a good night."

"Good night, Sirius," he said, giving him a hug and pushing away the memory of his earlier attack.

Making his way to his dorm, he gave the password to the Fat Lady with a smile, "Orion."

Finally getting into bed, he didn't even bother to change. He just took off his shirt and threw it across his trunk before settling in. It only took him a few moments for sleep to claim him.

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As Harry started to dream, he was outside in the Quidditch Stadium with his friends, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore. His team was up by five, but that wouldn't matter for long, because he had just caught sight of the snitch and as much as he loved his new girlfriend, he knew he was better than she was. Swerving in and out of his teammates, the other team, and the posts, he kept his eye on the snitch the entire time, making sure never to lose it. He heard Ginny behind him, but he was faster. Suddenly the snitch bolted toward the Forbidden Forest and Harry made the sharp turn to avoid one of the stadium posts and went after the snitch.

Suddenly, the scene changed. He was no longer staring fixedly at the snitch hovering only a few feet ahead of him, but looking down at a figure that was kneeling before him.

"Severus," he heard himself say. But Harry realized that it wasn't himself who was speaking, it was Voldemort.

"My Lord. You summoned me?"

"Why did it take so long, Snape?"

Snape seemed to kneel lower to the ground. "I was in a meeting with Dumbledore and couldn't get away until now. I beg forgiveness for my tardiness."

"Crucio."

Snape's screams echoed in the room, as Voldemort kept the curse on him until he was satisfied.

After the curse was lifted, Snape remained on the floor, panting. Voldemort stood. "What did the old man have to say?"

Snape got off the floor and kneeled once more. "We were discussing the possibility of me becoming the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

There was silence for a minute before Voldemort spoke once again.

"You lie, Severus."

Harry heard the murmurs of the other Death Eaters in the room.

"Where is Harry Potter, Severus?"

"He is at his aunt's in Surry, my Lord."

"Are you sure, Severus?"

"Yes, my Lord. Quite sure."

There was a few more minutes of silence as Voldemort looked down at the man in front of him.

"You wand, Severus."

Snape looked up, confused. "I'm sorry, my Lord?"

"You wand," he said with more force behind the words.

It was obvious, even to Harry, that Snape was reluctant to give up control of his wand. It would leave him defenseless in the presence of one of the most evil wizards of all time, and that thought made Harry's stomach bottom out.

"Accio."

Snape's wand came flying out of his robe sleeve and toward Harry, which he caught deftly and put away. "Tut tut, Severus. I shouldn't have had to do that. Now, I want you to lower your walls, Severus."

"My…walls, my Lord?"

"Yes, you walls. I want full access to your mind, Snape."

"But, my Lord-"

"Taglio!"

Harry watched helplessly as Snape started to scream. Harry saw the only part of Snape's body, his hands, become covered in deep cuts.

Voldemort made a long sweeping motion with his wand and Snape's mask and robe was thrown aside, making the cuts on his face visible and the realization of the damage that had been done with that curse more prominent.

"Your walls, Severus."

Snape looked straight into Voldemort's eyes as he said, "I can't."

Harry felt the rage as it flowed through Voldemort at Snape's statement. "You can't?"

"No." Harry hoped that he was mistaking the sound of defeat in Snape's voice, but something told him that he wasn't.

"Let's see if we can remedy that." Voldemort motioned to the circle, and they closed in on Snape. Voldemort cast the first curse, Crucio, before allowing his followers to have their go at the helpless professor.

Harry watched helplessly and frozen as curse after curse flew toward his potions professor. He may not like the man, but Snape was protecting him. He had to respect him for that.

After a few minutes of allowing his Death Eaters to have some fun, he raised his hand and the curses stopped. He motioned for his followers to move back as he addressed Snape.

"You lied, Severus. I know for a fact that Harry Potter is not in Surry. He is somewhere else. Where, I do not know. But I do want to know, Severus. And I want you to tell me."

Snape, battered, bruised, bleeding, and almost out of strength, lifted his head and looked directly at Voldemort as he said, "No."

Suddenly Harry saw Snape grab something from around his neck and disappear. Rage coursed through Harry as Voldemort ordered one of his followers to track the portkey.

"It goes to the gates of Hogwarts, my Lord."

Voldemort screamed in anger and frustration as he started throwing curses at his followers.

Harry suddenly woke up from the horrible vision and jumped out of bed, grabbed his wand from his bedside table, grabbed his shirt, and flew down the stairs. As he flew down the corridors, he could only think of how Snape was defenseless outside the grounds of Hogwarts. He could only hope, as the threw open the Entrance Hall doors, that Snape could have managed to pull himself into the safety of the grounds. Harry noticed that it was pitch black as he ran, so he whipped out his wand and illuminated the area around him. He briefly wondered how long he had been asleep before he finally saw what he was looking for; Snape.

"Professor!" Harry yelled as he skidded to a stop and landed on the ground next to the battered man. "Professor?" When he didn't get a response, he threw red sparks into the air, in hope that Dumbledore, or someone, would see them. After a few moments of letting the sparks fly, he decided to take the Professor to the Hospital Wing. Thankful for magic, he casted a levitating charm on the man. After making sure that the professor was all right, he took off once more, this time toward the castle. After making his way back into the Entrance Hall, he took a moment to catch his breath before running toward the Hospital Wing.

He was almost there when he spotted Professor Dumbledore running toward him.

"Professor!"

"Harry, what's going on, are you al-Harry what happened?"

"I'll explain in a bit, we need to get him inside," he said, throwing open the doors to the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey!"

Harry led Snape to one of the closest beds, and as he was lowering him down, he yelled once more, "Madam Pomfrey!"

Finally, the Mediwitch came bursting into the room with an alarmed look on her face, which turned to surprise and then back to alarm as she gazed upon the man on the bed. She made quick work of the distance and shooed Harry back toward Dumbledore, who was standing near the door, still in shock.

The two Gryffindors watched as the witch did what she could to save the professor.

"Harry?"

"Professor?" Harry asked, his eyes not leaving the man that was unconscious on the bed.

"What happened?"

Harry turned to see Dumbledore gazing sadly at the same place Harry had been looking. The familiar twinkle in his eye was no where to be found, and for a moment, he looked like the old man that he was.

Turning back to Snape he told him, "Voldemort." Harry paused as the memories of what happened coursed through him. "He was merciless." Harry sighed. He wouldn't be able to close his eyes for a week without seeing the image of Snape on the floor being surrounded by the Death Eaters, wandless and powerless.

"Harry." When he made eye contact with the headmaster, he continued, "Come with me."

Harry was hesitant to leave without finding out if Snape was going to be okay. Dumbledore seemed to sense his hesitation.

"Madam Pomfrey will alert me when she is finished."

Harry still didn't want to go, but knew that there was nothing that he could do. He had done all he could for now. So he nodded and turned his back to the working witch and followed Dumbledore out of the room and toward his office.

The journey to the Headmaster's office was quiet. Both were deep in thought. Harry couldn't keep the images of what happened with Snape out of his head. Suddenly Harry heard Dumbledore say something, but he was too lost in thought and missed the password. Shaking himself off, he made himself pay attention as they climbed the moving staircase.

Harry followed Dumbledore off of the stairs and through the door, into his office. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, and motioned for Harry to sit down. After closing the door, Harry took the offered seat.

Dumbledore was looking down, not meeting Harry's eyes. Harry waited for Dumbledore to say something. Soon enough, Dumbledore met Harry's gaze.

"I need for you to tell me what happened, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath and wondered where to begin.

"Maybe the beginning would be a good idea?"

Harry looked up, startled. His walls were down.

His walls…

"You had the look on your face. I didn't read your mind," Dumbledore said with a small smile.

Harry tried to smile back, but failed miserably and decided to just get on with it. "Well, I guess it started earlier. This afternoon. I had an attack when Voldemort called Snape. I knew he wasn't happy about something but I didn't think this would happen. I'm so sorry, Professor. I should have said something-"

"Harry. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. Please continue."

Harry nodded. "Well, after that we went to play Quidditch. So I forgot about it for a while. But it came back to me and all the activities of the day, not to mention the attack itself, drained me. So I went up to bed early. I fell asleep, but didn't have the vision at first. It faded from Quidditch into the vision. I was in a dark room. Snape was kneeling in front of me…I mean, Voldemort." He shook his head. "Anyway, Voldemort wasn't happy. He asked what took so long and Snape said that he was with you. Voldemort punished him with the Crutacious Curse. After he asked what the meeting was about, and Snape told him that it was about trying to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Voldemort knew he was lying, and he called him out on it. Then he asked where I was, and Snape told him that I was still at my aunt and uncle's. Voldemort knew it wasn't true. He asked for Snape's wand and…" Harry got caught up in the memory of what happened and had to stop.

"Take your time, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes, but found that to be a very bad idea, it just made the memory more realistic. He quickly opened his eyes and tried to start again. "Voldemort summoned his wand because Snape didn't want to give it up. He hesitated just a bit too long. Then Voldemort told him to take down his walls. He wanted free access to his mind, without the barriers of Occlumency. Snape told him that he couldn't. And…" Harry took a deep breath before continuing. "Voldemort did the Crutacious Curse one more time before letting the Death Eaters have a shot at him. After a few minutes he told them to stop. He told Snape to tell him where I was. Snape was in bad shape, but he still held his head up and said, 'No.'" Harry smiled slightly. "It was awesome. And before anything else could happen, he reached for something around his neck, and he was gone. Voldemort had someone trace it back to the gates of Hogwarts. He wasn't too happy. That's when I woke up. I grabbed my wand and ran down to the grounds. Thankfully he was able to pull himself inside the grounds so that he couldn't be caught by Voldemort or the Death Eaters. When I got to him I sent up the red sparks, in hopes that someone would see them. But I knew I had to get him help, so I levitated him across the grounds and into the castle. And, well, you know the rest."

Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. Harry wished that he could close his eyes, but knew what would happen, so he kept them open.

After a few minutes, Harry couldn't keep his thoughts to himself anymore. "Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?" he asked tiredly, opening his eyes.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't know, Harry. I don't know."

Almost as if called, Madam Pomfrey's head appeared in the Headmaster's fireplace. Both of the occupants turned to hear the news.

"Albus, I wanted to give you the report on Severus."

"Yes, Poppy?"

"I think he's out of the woods for now, but tonight is going to be the teller. If he makes it through the night, he's going to be fine. He was hit with a lot of dark curses, but nothing that will cause lasting damage. But there is still a chance that he won't make it. And if he does, it will take him a while to recover fully."

Harry and Dumbledore both heaved sighs of relief. "Thank you, Poppy."

"Don't thank me. If Mr. Potter hadn't gotten him here when he did, Severus might not have made it."

Harry practically collapsed with relief back into the chair. Snape was going to be all right.

Well, as long as he made it thought the next few hours. When he straightened back up, Madam Pomfrey was gone and Dumbledore had the familiar twinkle back in his eyes.

"Great job, Harry. I know it's not fun having these visions, and I know you don't like Professor Snape that much, but that's the second person you've saved."

Harry shrugged. "I may not like him a lot, but he did protect me, at risk of his own life. And if he's willing to put his life on the line for me when he doesn't even like me, and the term _like_ being an understatement, I should be able to do the same for him. Or at least do what I can to help."

The twinkle in his eyes seemed to brighten with the only thing that Harry could define as pride. "Well, I believe that it is late. You heard Madam Pomfrey. He's going to be fine. Now, why don't we both get some sleep, hm?" Dumbledore asked, standing up.

Harry stood, smiling slightly. "Yes, sir. And thank you, sir."

Dumbledore walked up the stairs behind his desk, as Harry walked down and out of the Headmaster's office. Once off the stairs and the gargoyle had spun back into place, he started down the hall. But he didn't go back to his dorm.

He opened the door to the Hospital Wing and quietly snuck into the room, closing the door soundlessly. Looking around the corner, Harry didn't see Madam Pomfrey anywhere. He assumed that she had probably gone to bed. He looked over at the only occupied bed in the infirmary, the one baring Professor Snape. Harry walked over to the bed and looked down at the healing professor. He looked somewhat better, his face wasn't so pale, and his cuts were healing too. Harry looked around and quickly found a wooden chair across the room. Slowly and carefully, as to not wake the witch somewhere beyond the doors, he walked over to the chair, picked it up, and brought it back over to the bed. This chair wasn't as comfortable as Professor Dumbledore's chair, but it would have to do for now.

Leaning back into the uncomfortable chair, Harry smiled slightly. He was glad that he had gotten to Snape in time. Even though he couldn't stand the man, he had protected him even when he knew that it would cost him his life.

How could he ever repay this?

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Hey all!!! So, here's the chapter! I hope you liked it…I will be continuing this very soon. I will be in Indiana for a while, I'm going to the Indy 500!! But I'll be writing when I can and will get the next chapter out soon (definitely within the next month, if not much sooner than that, I have great plot bunnies running around and they won't stop till they're out).

I will be taking chapter one down when I get to it in this story. I've decided to go a slightly different avenue. But nothing major about the story will change, just the timeline.

Again, I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to do this, but here it is!! Press that little button to tell me what you think!!! -Jen


	10. I Can't

Chapter 10

Somewhere between sitting vigil at Snape's beside and the next day, Harry had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, his dreams hadn't been pleasant. Harry ended up walking up sweating and jolted upright. He realized that he was no longer in the chair, but on a bed. He looked around and realized that he was sleeping right next to Professor Snape. Looking out the windows, he saw that it was daylight. When he got out of bed, it alerted the Mediwitch, and she walked over.

"Mr. Potter."

"Hello, Madam Pomfrey. Um, what time is it?"

"It is ten o'clock, Mr. Potter. And I was to inform the Headmaster when you awoke. Excuse me," she said as she made her way through the door at the back of the infirmary.

Harry used the time to stretch and wake up for the day. Walking over to the still unconscious, but breathing, professor, a thought jolted him. _He's alive! He survived the night!_ A smile split Harry's face and he sighed in relief at the realization that the man was going to be all right.

Harry sat down and waited for the sure visit from Professor Dumbledore. As it turned out, he was right. Only a few minutes after Madam Pomfrey had left to tell Dumbledore that he was awake, he came through the Hospital Wing doors.

"Harry," he said with a smile on his face.

"Hello, professor. He's going to be all right," Harry said, smiling slightly.

"Yes, he is. And he would have been even if you hadn't fallen asleep next to his bed."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay."

"He'll be fine, Harry. Why don't you go down and get something to eat? I'm sure you're hungry."

Harry took one last glance at the still battered man on the bed before standing. "All right."

He was almost to the door when he heard a small groan behind him. Harry spun around in surprise. Snape was moving! "Professor Dumbledore! He's awake!"

Harry watched as Dumbledore made his way quickly to Snape's bed. Harry started to walk toward them when he stopped. Snape wouldn't know that he helped him and would probably act as if they were in class. So he decided to stay where he was and let Dumbledore tend to the man. Looking back, he was thankful that the professor hadn't woken before this. If he had, Snape would have seen him there and he wouldn't have been happy.

Harry watched and Dumbledore smiled down at the man now alert and talking. Snape asked what happened and how he got to the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore looked over to Harry, who backed up several paces, hoping to avoid the other man's gaze. For someone who had fallen asleep next to the wizard the previous night, he was acting like a skittish puppy.

"Harry saw what happened and rushed down to the gate to bring you here. He saved your life."

Harry suddenly remembered that another Potter had saved Snape's life once. Snape never forgave his father for it, even though James had been cruel to him for many years before that. He remembered the conversation between himself and the professor about how James saved his life. Harry didn't want to add fuel to the already large fire of hate that Snape associated with him.

"Great," was Snape's only response.

Harry blinked. He was expecting more, but maybe the Headmaster's presence had dampened his response.

"Harry?" Dumbledore motioned for him to come over, but he shook his head.

"I'm going to go get that breakfast now, professor," he said, nervously. But before he could leave the room, Dumbledore called after him.

"That's fine, but after you're done, please come to my office."

"Yes, sir." Harry ran out before Dumbledore could call him back again.

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After eating a little bit of food, knowing that lunch was soon to come, he went back up to the common room. Harry found all of his friends present in the room when he got back. Suddenly he didn't know what to tell them. He knew that Snape wouldn't want him to spill what happened to everyone and embarrass him more than he probably already was. Dumbledore had probable already told him that Harry had seen everything. He couldn't blame Snape if he wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, even to see him, but all he could hope for would be that Snape wasn't more peeved with him than usual.

But he wasn't that hopeful.

Harry spotted Ginny, who was already coming over to him with a worried look on her face. Harry shot her a quick look and she gave him a questioning glance.

"Ginny, could I talk to you?" he asked naturally, so as not to arouse the others' suspicions.

"Sure."

"We'll be back later, all right guys?" Harry asked, taking Ginny's hand.

Hermione was the first to respond. "Sure. Is everything okay?"

Harry nodded and could say truthfully, "Yes, everything is fine."

After a parting goodbye, Harry led Ginny out of the common room and toward the Room of Requirement where they would be able to talk without the possibility of being overheard. Ginny was quiet as they walked along. It was almost as if she knew something was going on, even though he had said everything was all right. Thankful for the silence, it gave Harry some time to think about what he would say to her. He didn't want to say everything, but needed to talk to someone and knew that she wouldn't tell the entire school about it, and would keep it even from her family if asked to.

Finally making it to the room, Harry walked past the spot three times and when the door appeared he opened it for Ginny to go through first. When she walked through, he heard a gasp. Harry smiled and walked in behind her.

They were not in the Gryffindor common room this time. They were in a forest and in front of them was a beautiful waterfall. Harry led Ginny toward a large rock and helped her up before sitting next to her.

"It's beautiful, Harry! Where are we?" Ginny asked, mesmerized by the waterfall.

"I dunno. But I wanted some place with a waterfall. It's so peaceful, and I need a calming environment for this conversation," Harry confessed.

"I was right. Something is wrong," she said, turning away from the waterfall and toward Harry.

"Well, not really. It wasn't all right about an hour ago, but it is now."

"Where were you?"

"In the Hospital Wing."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "What? Why? Are you all right?"

Harry chuckled. "I'm fine. It wasn't me who needed the Infirmary. It was Professor Snape."

"Snape?" she asked, clearly confused. "Why? And why were you there?"

Harry took a deep breath. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to repeat what you hear to anyone. Not even Hermione."

"Not even Hermione?" she thought for a moment. "Everything is all right? No one is in danger? I won't have to tell anyone what I hear to protect someone will I?"

"No. Everything is fine now. No one is in danger anymore. You won't have to say anything to save someone."

Ginny thought for a few more moments, looking back at the waterfall. She turned back to Harry and said, "All right, I promise."

So Harry started from the beginning. He reminded her about his attack the previous afternoon. She remembered, so he took a deep breath and went right into the vision only making a quick mention to the fact that he didn't start off with the vision but with Quidditch. He told her about how he was seeing the scene as Voldemort was, so it was from his point of view. He told her about the conversation that had transpired between Voldemort and the professor. He glazed over the parts of the torture, but didn't delete them, knowing that he needed to talk about everything, pain and all. Besides, it wouldn't make any sense as to why Snape was in the Hospital Wing if he didn't. He had a small smile on his face at the end when he told her how Snape escaped. Ginny also smiled, thankful that nothing worse had happened to their professor.

Harry told her about waking up and hardly even thinking before grabbing his wand and bolting down toward the grounds; omitting the part about him having to throw his shirt back on, that detail, however, was not necessary. He told her about getting to the professor and taking him to the Hospital Wing, running into Professor Dumbledore in the process.

"He's awake now, and was talking to Dumbledore when I left. He's going to be okay."

"That's great," Ginny said with a smile. "I'm so glad."

"That makes two of us."

"Now I know why you didn't want me to tell anyone. He would hate you even more if this got out. It would be too much on top of everything and he'd probably curse you into oblivion," she said with a smile.

Harry smiled back. "I'm sure he would, he already hates me so much." The smile didn't last long. "I wish he didn't hate me to such an extent."

Ginny took Harry's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "It'll be all right, Harry. Maybe he'll stop hating you so much after this. I mean, you saved his life."

Harry shook his head. "So did my dad, but you don't see Snape saying great things about him. And besides, how can I erase more than twenty years of hatred that he had with my dad, and it was then placed onto me? I can't. I don't see how he will ever get over that."

Ginny seemed surprised. "Well, maybe he'll change his mind? I mean, a lot's happened since school let out." She didn't sound optimistic.

Harry chuckled. "I doubt it. I probably won't be anywhere near him for a while anyway." Harry looked at his watch and remembered that he had to meet Dumbledore. "Let's walk and talk. I've got to go talk to Dumbledore." He helped Ginny down and they made their way out of the forest and back into the walls of Hogwarts.

"Why won't you go near him?"

Harry sighed and waited a little while before admitting, "I'm afraid to."

Ginny didn't let that comment go. "What do you mean? Why are you afraid?"

"Well…I saw so much in that vision. He's not happy about it, I'm sure. I just can't take him treating me like we're in class after that. He protected me, us, and has been for so long." He looked down. "How can I ever repay him?"

Harry didn't hear anything from his girlfriend for a while. The next thing he knew, she stopped him and turned his head so that he had to look at her. "Harry, you can't think like that. He didn't do what he did to have you think that you had to do something to earn what he offered to do. He wanted to help fight against Voldemort when he realized what was going on and what it meant. It just so happens that fighting Voldemort means protecting you too."

"I know, Ginny. But I wish that he didn't have to protect me. I wish that no one had to put their life on the line for me. It's not fair to them to have to put their life on hold just for me."

"You're right, it's not fair. But that's the way it is and he volunteered to do this, Harry. He could have kept going with Voldemort, gone into hiding, or-" she cut herself off. Harry still saw where she was going with it though.

"That's just it. What kind of options are the others? It's either death or continuing with Voldemort. It's not like the other options are such gems are they?"

"No, they're not," Ginny agreed. "But, he still chose the higher road, Harry. At least he knew that he was doing good where he was."

Harry shook his head. "But what about now? He can't go back to Voldemort. He'd be killed in an instant!"

Ginny put a hand on his shoulder. "I know. He won't be going back to Voldemort. Don't worry, Harry. It's going to be all right. He'll see how much you care, how much you aren't like your dad, and he'll," she paused. "Well, he won't hate you _as much_."

Harry chuckled. "Thanks, Ginny, but I really don't see that happening."

"Why not?"

"Well…it's just…it's not like Snape. I mean, he hates practically everyone who isn't a Slytherin. Thanks, Gin, but it's not going to happen."

"Really?"

Harry spun around to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway of the Hospital Wing. Harry felt his stomach leave his body; he heard the entire exchange between the two friends. And if Dumbledore was in the doorway, and had heard every word, then Harry only had to connect the dots to the next thought that ran through his mind.

Snape heard it too.

"Lovely…" Harry sighed and turned to Ginny, who looked just as surprised as Harry felt. She took in her surroundings and if he read the look in her now wide eyes, she had made the same deduction that he had.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to stop here…" Ginny seemed to be beating herself up for her mistake, and Harry wasn't going to see her continue.

"It's all right, Ginny. Go on back to the common room, I'll see you later."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, looking at the door that Dumbledore was standing beside.

Harry smiled grimly. "I'm going to talk to Dumbledore."

Ginny answered his grim smile with one of her own, knowing exactly what he meant. "All right. I'll tell the others. We'll be outside when you're done, okay?"

Harry nodded, gave her a quick kiss as he said his goodbyes. Only after she had turned the corner did he turn back to Dumbledore. "Is there _any way_ I can convince you to go back to your office with me?" he asked hopefully.

The small ray of hope that the professor wouldn't put him through seeing Snape after all that was dashed as Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "No, there isn't."

Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat. Suddenly he heard Dumbledore in his mind, _It's not going to be that bad. If it were, I wouldn't have you go in._

Harry could have slapped himself for not practicing his walls, and quickly erected them before anything else happened. Not that they would hold against Dumbledore, but he had proven himself against Snape, so he wasn't as worried about him getting into his head.

Harry took a deep breath and went through the open door that Dumbledore was motioning to. Dread had made his stomach return and return in knots, and fear of what would happen made him turn his eyes to the ground, as if there was something extremely interesting in the bland tiles. He heard the door behind him close and he looked back to see Dumbledore motioning for Harry to follow him. Harry sighed and went behind Dumbledore, looking up for the first time since entering the infirmary. Of course, he was looking at the back of the Headmaster, but his eyes were no longer on the ground. Until Dumbledore moved to the right and Harry's eyes caught those of Snape's. Harry was sure that Dumbledore was going to be wrong, that Snape would chew him up and spit him out faster than Dumbledore would be able to stop him.

But as Harry looked at Snape and Snape looked back, Harry had a small feeling of hope that Dumbledore was right.

The silence continued until Dumbledore broke it. "So, Harry." Harry turned away from Snape's gaze and looked to Dumbledore, questioningly. "Where were you?"

Harry was confused but answered the question. "The Room of Requirement."

"What were you doing?"

"Talking to Ginny."

"Why?"

"Because I needed to."

"About what?"

"What happened."

Dumbledore's smile seemed to grow after every question. "Why did you stop outside this room to continue your conversation?"

Harry winced slightly. "I didn't mean to. Ginny stopped us. We didn't know where we were."

Dumbledore nodded and paused, seemingly thinking, when Snape spoke his first words to Harry.

"Did you mean what you said?"

Harry looked back at Snape and when he made eye contact with the man, he said emphatically, "Every word."

Harry saw that Snape didn't believe him, so he did the only thing that would convince the man: he lowered his walls.

Snape's eyes narrowed and Harry held his head up and kept eye contact. It was very difficult to not force Snape from his mind when he entered, but he kept the walls around his mind down as Snape watched his conversation with Ginny, heard what was said, and felt his emotions from what happened. The scene stopped for a moment; Snape looked thoughtful. Suddenly the images from the vision he had came to the forefront of his mind. Harry gasped, unprepared of the onslaught of emotions from his vision, but quickly regained control and pushed Snape back.

Harry felt drained, as if he was back in Occlumency lessons and he was a novice once more. He was suddenly being pushed back into a comfortable chair. Harry closed his eyes as he resurrected his barriers, trying to keep the images of his vision at bay long enough for him to complete his walls.

"Satisfied?"

Harry looked up, confused. Dumbledore was looking at Snape who was still looking at him. "Not yet."

"Severus-"

"I need to know."

Harry waited a moment before asking Dumbledore, "What's going on? What does he need to know?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He wants to see what happened through your eyes."

Harry's eyes widened. "No. No, I'm not going to do that. I can't."

"Why, Harry?"

Harry refused to answer the Headmaster's question. He couldn't tell them that when he closed his eyes, he saw his professor being tortured over and over in his mind. This was sure to make sleeping that night quite difficult.

"Harry?"

Harry knew that if he stayed, Dumbledore would get the answer out of him whether he wanted to give it or not. So he stood and said, "I can't." before getting up and leaving the Hospital Wing before Dumbledore could stop him. His first instinct was to go to the Room of Requirement where no one could disturb him, but instead, he walked quickly toward the grounds.

"Accio Marauder's Map," Harry said as he kept walking. Soon enough, the map was in his hand and he was looking for his friends. He found them in the Great Hall. Harry shook his head, he couldn't eat with them without risking a run in with Dumbledore. So he went to the kitchens to get something and spend time with Dobby, knowing that it made the elf's day having Harry there.

Harry stayed with the enthusiastic house elf until he saw that his friends were already on the grounds. He said goodbye to the elves, who tried to get him to take some more food with him.

Harry finally escaped the kitchens and made his way to his friends. Getting outside, he couldn't help the memories of the previous night that came to his mind. He looked toward where he had seen Snape laying, but instead of seeing Snape, he saw his friends walking toward the Quidditch Field. Pushing back the negative thoughts, he started walking again, unaware that he had stopped, down the steps and toward his friends.

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Hey all!! This is quite a bit sooner update than last time…I'm awful sorry about that. But here's the chapter!!! I know it's a bit short, and I'm sorry about that. I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, but I'll try to get it up soon again. Hope you liked it, let me know if you did! There's a nice button down there that's begging to be pushed! Thanks for sticking with me, and I'll see you at the next update!

-Jen


	11. A Night Excursion Gone Awry

Chapter 11

The afternoon passed quickly for Harry as he and his friends messed around outside. It only took minutes for Harry to forget the meeting with Dumbledore and Snape as they played their regular game of Quidditch, and Hermione was even starting to join in for a bit longer each time and was starting to referee.

Sooner than the other teens wanted, Sirius came outside and called them to the ground. It was a race to the earth, which Harry won.

"Come on, you lot. It's not safe to be out here so late, and besides, it's dinner time, so you guys need to be getting inside," Harry's godfather reminded them.

The Gryffindors all grumbled as they made their way to the castle. Harry walked with Sirius. Apparently he was doing some work for Dumbledore, which is why he hadn't been out to see the teens. Of course he wouldn't say what it was that he had been working on, but that he was done for the time being.

Harry didn't mention staying with Snape, or any of the stuff that happened the previous night. He didn't want to upset his godfather, as he knew how he felt about Snape. They talked about nothing of importance as the group made their way back into the castle and into the Great Hall for the last meal of the day. As the group chatted away, they all sat down at the Gryffindor table, Sirius included. Remus joined them shortly after and sat next to his best friend. Harry was having such a great time with his friends and family that he totally missed Dumbledore come into the room and walk past them. Only after they were almost finished eating and he caught Ginny's eye did she point out what he missed.

Harry's eyes locked with the Headmaster's when he looked up. He quickly looked away, afraid that the professor would ask him to go back to Snape, or worse, try to access his mind again and get the answer to the question he refused to answer. He _had_ to start practicing again or else he would lose everything that he had gained during the summer. In all the excitement, his Occlumency practice had taken a back seat to life, and that needed to stop. Though it was going to be a bit more difficult when he couldn't close his eyes for more than a few seconds, but he would still do it.

Thankfully, Dumbledore didn't call Harry back to the Infirmary, nor did he feel the penetration of his mind. Harry had to sigh in relief that he made it through dinner without incident. He did start to wonder, however, how Professor Snape was healing from the curses that he had been exposed to. Harry sighed, for all his avoiding of the man, he would probably go see the Headmaster to check on his Potions Master's progress.

Apparently Hermione noticed his look up to the Head Table and looked for herself. "Hey, guys, where's Professor Snape?"

Harry froze. He knew exactly where Snape was, but he wasn't going to tell his friends that.

Ron looked up momentarily and then looked back down, obviously not caring in the least, which sent a wave of indignation on his professor's behalf through him. "Dunno. Who cares?"

Harry had to keep his eyes on his almost empty plate to keep from sending the glare that he so desperately wanted to send at his best friend. Only when he knew that he had his emotions under control, did he look back up, and Ginny caught his eye. He saw the same feelings of anger in her eyes that he felt himself.

"Ron! You should care! He's helping the Order in the most dangerous position there is, how dare you! Just because he's not nice to us in class, I swear…" she couldn't finish her statement because she was so angry. Harry had to hide a smile; his sentiments exactly.

Ginny shared that smile and made a small motion toward the exit of the Great Hall and Harry had to agree. He stood. "Hey guys, Ginny and I are gonna go for a quick walk. We'll see you back in the Common Room."

Taking Ginny's hand, he heard the goodbyes of his friends, and walked out toward the grounds. They didn't say anything for a while, just enjoying each others company until they got to the lake. The setting sun made the temperature more bearable than the earlier heat infested Quidditch match in the afternoon sun. Knowing that it would soon be dark and the adults in the castle behind them would have _their _behinds if they stayed out too long, made them stop short and just sit by the lake. Ginny was the first to break the companionable silence.

"So, how's Snape doing?"

Harry turned to see Ginny looking at him expectantly. "He's all right, I guess. I didn't stay too long."

"Really? Why not?" Ginny asked, confused.

Harry grimaced. "Well, Snape didn't believe that I meant what I had been saying. So, I knew there was only one way he would believe me…" he paused, looking out at the last dwindling rays of sunlight above the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "I let him see what happened," he said with a bit of an apology in his voice.

"Oh," he heard Ginny say. After a moment of silence she continued, "What happened after that?"

Harry shook his head to get the memories of Snape's torture from his mind. "He tried to see what happened through my eyes."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"No, I mean, what are you talking about?"

Harry turned to see a confused look in Ginny's eyes. He listened back to what he said and realized where she became confused. "He wanted to see what I saw last night."

Ginny's eyes widened when she realized what the professor had been asking. "Oh."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah." Harry sighed as he saw the remaining light from the sun fading quickly as darkness overtook the sky. "We'd better go in before Sirius comes out to yell at us again, or worse, Dumbledore."

Ginny nodded in understanding, and took Harry's offered hand when he stood. They made their way, hand in hand, back to the castle.

As they made their way back to their dorm, the couple were quiet. Suddenly Ginny broke the silence. "Are you still worried?"

Harry smiled. How could she tell? "A bit."

"Then why don't you go by and see him?" she asked realistically.

Harry sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. "Because I don't want to get into that situation again. I can't."

Ginny squeezed his hand in understanding. "I know you can't, but it can't hurt to just go by while he's sleeping and check on him, can it?"

Harry smiled, but then came to his senses. "Well, there's only one problem with that, what if he wakes up? I mean, being a spy, he probably is a light sleeper…"

Ginny smiled. "Well, yes, but that's what your invisibility cloak is for."

It took Harry a moment to realize that he had been incredibly stupid. He laughed. "You're right, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Ginny smiled. "Say that again? I didn't quite hear that first part."

Harry returned the smile and said again, "You were right." And gave her a quick kiss as they made it to the Fat Lady, gave the password, and entered the common room.

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Harry was exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open laying in his four poster bed waiting for Ron to go to sleep. The twins were in their own dorm, leaving Harry and Ron to have their dorm all to themselves. Harry was happy about this, as it made it much easier to sneak out since there was only one pair of eyes to worry about. About an hour after they had climbed into bed, Harry looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was after eleven and he had heard Ron start his light snoring.

Harry let out a breath in relief. _Finally!_ he thought, as he quietly got out of his bed and pulled the curtains around as silently as he could. He then grabbed his wand and opened the trunk at the foot of his bed. Quickly finding his invisibility cloak, Harry closed the lid and rushed to put the cloak on, just in case the red head woke up. Once concealed, Harry made his way silently down the stairs, into the common room, and out into the hallway. Knowing that sleep would not be something that he wanted, or would be getting tonight, he took his time, figuring that Snape was already asleep and he wouldn't be missing anything if he ran straight to the Hospital Wing.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, not wanting to be heard by Filch or Mrs. Norris, he was in front of the door that stood in the way of himself and the inside of the Infirmary. And Professor Snape. Harry took a deep breath and as slowly as he dared, and as quietly as he could, he turned the handle and opened the door a crack to hear voices floating toward him. He froze when he recognized the voices of the Headmaster and Potions Master.

"Poppy says that you'll be out of here in a matter of days, Severus. You're healing quite well."

"Great, I can't wait to get out of here and out from under that infernal woman's fussing," he heard Snape say harshly.

Harry smiled and nodded, he knew exactly how Snape was feeling. He hated the Hospital Wing himself, because he knew if he entered there, he would be a long time in coming out. Only when the Mediwitch was satisfied would he see the hallways of Hogwarts again.

"She's just making sure that you are healthy before you go running around your potions lab," Dumbledore said, taking Harry from his thoughts and concentrating once again on what the men were saying. This was the best way to find out how the man was doing without even having to see him; Ginny was amazing.

"I feel fine, Albus. And I have a lot of work to do. It is just a waste of time for me to lie around in this bed doing absolutely nothing for three more days."

Harry heard Dumbledore chuckle. "Maybe she will let you out early on good behavior, hm?"

Harry had to stifle his own laugh before the two men heard him. He knew he would have to leave soon, he was pushing his luck already as it was. But he wanted to know what was going on.

"I can only hope."

There was silence from the Infirmary for a while, long enough to make Harry think that he had better be going. But before he could move a step, his luck finally ran out.

"Eavesdropping again are we?"

Harry cringed. How did Dumbledore do that? He hoped that the man was just guessing and decided to make a break for it. But as he had feared, his luck only stayed with him for so long and wouldn't give him another break.

"Harry, I know you're there. Don't even try. Come in."

Harry wondered if he dared to go against the Headmaster's direct orders, even if he did sound as if he was in a good mood, but it only took a moment for him to realize that he had to pick his battles. And this wasn't it. He sighed as he opened the door to the Infirmary and saw Dumbledore's knowing smile and Snape's stoic look. He wondered just how much trouble he was actually in. Seeing the moving eyes of the Headmaster, he remembered that they couldn't see him. Taking a deep breath, he sighed, realizing that he had to face them sooner or later, and he didn't know how much patience that the men had. So, throwing caution to the wind, he took off his cloak and balled it up and pressed it against his stomach, as if it could protect him from the conversation that was about to happen.

"Harry, why don't you come sit down?" Dumbledore asked. Harry looked around for a chair, but found none. He was about to ask where he was suppose to sit, when Dumbledore made a lovely blue armchair appear near the right end of Snape's bed.

Harry sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be getting out of this, so he kept his eyes to the floor as he made his way to the chair and sat down. He looked up to see Dumbledore still smiling at him. "What?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "What were you doing outside the door at this time of night?"

Harry kept eye contact with Dumbledore but was very aware of the other man still in his peripheral vision. "I just wanted to come by and check to see if everything was okay."

The sparkle in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to grow brighter as he took the meaning of the words from his statement. "Everything?"

Harry could have throttled the man. "Yes, everything."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean, Headmaster. Don't act like you don't." Harry's patience was waning. His lack of a good night sleep the previous night, and a promise of a sleepless night tonight, was making his snappy.

Dumbledore's sparkle turned into concern. Harry had to watch himself if he didn't want to Headmaster to know just how much that vision had affected him. He didn't need the Potions Master to stop hating him just out of pity. He wanted to _gain_ the man's respect, something he hadn't had since before his first day of class.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap," he said quietly, before turning his eyes to the ceiling. Normally he would have just closed his eyes to get away from the prying ones of the Headmaster, but that wasn't exactly something he could do at this moment without alerting the older wizard that something was wrong.

The concern that Harry saw in Dumbledore's eyes didn't dim. He knew that the man was probably reading his every move and body language. "So, how are you doing, sir?" Harry asked, turning his attention to Snape, hoping to get the calculating look out of Dumbledore's eyes.

"I'm quite all right, Potter."

Harry could have sighed once more, but refrained. The professor still didn't believe him, and the only way he would believe him was if Harry allowed Snape to see his memories of the vision. That was not something he was too keen on doing at the moment.

"That's good then."

Harry was starting to feel uncomfortable under the steady stare of the Headmaster. And his eyes returned to the ceiling. He wished more than anything that he could close his eyes and go to sleep, or at least melt into the armchair away from the two men in the room. But, again, he had no luck.

"Harry what's wrong?"

Harry's eyes met those of the Headmasters once again, but instead of concern, he saw the recognition that something was not right. Great.

"Nothing, sir. Why do you ask?"

"You're not acting like yourself, did you get enough sleep last night?"

Harry had to stop himself from reacting to the statement. No, he hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. He had gone to bed only to have the vision, run half the length of the castle, twice, relive the entire thing back to the Headmaster before staying up most of the night with the Potions Professor. And to top it all off, when he did get sleep, he had been plagued with the visions of Snape being totally alone and unprotected while Harry just stood rooted to the spot, unable to help or do anything except watch as the man was tortured before his very eyes before waking up after Voldemort had finished torturing the man and killed him.

So, no. He didn't get a good night sleep. And the ever present thought that he wouldn't be getting any tonight either was just enough to frustrate the young wizard even more.

"Yes, I did."

Apparently Dumbledore wasn't convinced. "I don't think you did."

"What do you know? You weren't here watching me sleep, how could you possibly know?"

"Potter! Hold your tongue!"

Harry flinched at the sound of Snape's harsh words. He had been hoping to avoid this, but it turns out that he just welcomed it with open arms. Now Dumbledore was never going to leave him alone.

"Severus."

Harry lowered his eyes to the invisibility cloak still in his lap before realizing that his hands were clenched onto the armrests and gripped his cloak once more. Dumbledore was too observant for his own good. Harry was sure that the man knew exactly what was going on now, and Harry was not happy about it. He had half a mind to get up from the comfortable chair and leave. However, the chair was all too comfortable and he felt as a hundred pound weight was on top of him.

"Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath before looking up at the Headmaster. He saw the truth written in the elder man's eyes. Oh, yes, he knew.

"Could you close your eyes for me, Harry?"

Harry was shocked by the question. He never expected those words to come out of his professor's mouth. "Wh-what?"

"Can you close your eyes?"

Harry sat with his mouth agape for a moment before closing it and shaking his head and blinking owlishly. "Why?"

"Just humor me, Harry, please?"

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but found the words had left him quicker than a balloon being deflated. "No, I won't."

"Harry-"

"No. I don't see the point," he said, finally standing up and making his way to the door as fast as he could.

"You can't close your eyes, can you?"

Harry froze just as his hand had reached for the doorknob. He heard the realization and surprise in the man's voice. Harry wondered if he should even confirm what the Headmaster already knew. But he was tired and cranky and just wanted to get out.

Harry's shoulders slumped under the accusation of the Headmaster. "No, I can't," he said softly before opening the door and leaving his two professors behind him.

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The morning found Harry locked in the Room of Requirement with a book in his hands. After fleeing the two men, he went to the only place that he knew no one would be able to bother him. He had been sitting in his favorite chair by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room for several hours now. He had done everything he could to keep himself awake and nightmare free. He had paced back and forth across the Common Room for a while before having to sit down. After almost falling asleep twice, he knew he had to occupy his mind or else he would have no chance of avoiding a nightmare filled sleep.

So he thought that if he got into a good book, he wouldn't have to think about his sleep deprivation. All of a sudden Moby Dick was on the floor in front of him. He had never read the book, but after reading the summary, decided that he would give it a try.

He read and read for hours, not wanting to put the book down, not just so he didn't fall asleep, but because it was so good. Despite the horror of killing the whales, the book was interesting. After he finished reading, he looked at his watch and was shocked. It was already past 9 o'clock! Putting the book down on the couch, he quickly left the room and made his way down to the dorm as fast as he could, just in case Dumbledore was searching for him. Thankfully he made it to the dorm without incident and back up to his bed before Ron could wake up. He put his cloak back into his trunk before going to the bathroom. Harry looked at himself in the mirror was saw that he looked like hell. Harry sighed. He knew that he couldn't hide the fact that he didn't sleep that night if he looked like this. So after he relieved himself, he took a shower, combed his hair, and brushed his teeth before going back into the room to get into some clean clothes. After getting ready for the day, Harry felt more awake and was sure that he looked much better.

Feeling the rumble of his stomach, telling him it was breakfast time, he left a quick note for Ron, telling him he was going to visit Hedwig before going to the kitchens for some breakfast. After leaving his still sleeping friend, he walked back down the stairs and took the opposite direction of the Infirmary and went to the Owlery.

Hedwig had been so glad to see him, she nearly nipped his ear off in happiness. He spent a few minutes with her, talking about nothing of importance before heading down to the kitchen with a promise to come back and see her soon. The castle was unusually quiet as Harry made his way down to the kitchens, only the talking of the portraits pierced the early morning hours. It was so different from the hustle and bustle of school months, where there was always something going on at almost all hours of the day.

Harry found his way to the kitchens, tickled the pear, and opened the portrait to be almost toppled over by Dobby.

"Harry Potter, sir! Good morning, Harry Potter, how are you?"

Harry chuckled at the house elf's enthusiasm. "I'm fine, Dobby, how about you?"

"Oh, Dobby is fine, Harry Potter, sir. Harry Potter is always coming to see Dobby, and Dobby is very happy to see Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry shook his head and asked for some breakfast to get the house elf to back off. But when he came back, there were more elves to accompany him with trays of all different breakfast items. Harry took a plate that was offered by one of the elves before helping himself to something from each plate, so as not to make the elves feel bad. After thanking them, all but Dobby left for other duties.

Harry was still a little cranky after having no sleep, that he had to watch himself with the little elf. He knew Dobby was just trying to give Harry some company, but his constant chattering was grating on Harry's still raw nerves. But he was polite and quickly ate his fill. Dobby tried to get him to eat more, but he refused. He was already so full! He made his second promise to come back and see the elf before leaving the kitchens. He stood outside, wondering what he should do. He didn't want to be inside, just in case he ran into the Headmaster again, so he took his troubled thoughts outside into the still cool morning.

Harry went over to his favorite rock and sat down, enjoying the early morning and watched the lake. He wondered what else that he and his friends could do. There had to be more to do around here than Quidditch all the time. But he didn't worry about it for to long, he knew his friends would come up with something to do. However there was something that he was worrying about: Snape. How was he suppose to be able to walk around the castle without fearing that he would walk into Dumbledore or, when he was out of the Hospital Wing, Snape? A part of him wanted to just get it over with, knowing that he probably would just give in later, but the other part of him, the one that didn't sleep at all last night, was wanting to avoid the confrontation for as long as he could. Though he had no idea how long that might be.

Harry heard a twig snap behind him and before he could think, he was off the rock with his wand in his hand. Only when he realized who it was did he lower his wand. "Ginny," he said with relief. "You startled me."

Ginny smiled. "Sorry bout that. I saw you from the common room and came down to see if you were all right."

Harry smiled back. "I'm fine, Ginny, thanks."

Ginny nodded and asked, "Mind if I sit with you for a while?"

"Sure," Harry told her, moving so that he could help her up. After making sure she was situated, he sat down next to her. Harry had a feeling that she had come down here for more than just check on his wellbeing. He was proven correct when Ginny spoke.

"So, how did things go last night? How was Snape?"

Harry chuckled. And Ginny seemed to understand. "Uh oh, what happened?"

Harry told her about how he overheard the two wizards talking and how he stayed longer than was wise and got caught. He was about to tell her what Dumbledore had asked him to do, but stopped himself, wondering if he should divulge that information to Ginny. He didn't want anyone to know how much watching Snape being tortured had really affected him. It was stupid. He was alive and healing, it shouldn't affect him this way. Besides, Dumbledore already knew, and he was sure that Snape new it by now too. So he left it at Dumbledore had wanted to know why he wouldn't let Snape see the vision as he saw it and he left frustrated.

Ginny nodded in understanding. "I don't know why he keeps asking you to do something that you have told him that you don't want to do."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense, I know. But I just…I just don't know."

Ginny took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. He felt a lot better, but was still feeling the effects of lack of sleep taking its toll as they sat on that rock. He needed to get up and get moving or else Ginny would notice his heavy lids and question him about it.

"Ginny, I'm gonna go see Sirius. I haven't really talked to him in a few days, could you tell the others for me?" he asked.

"Sure, they're probably in the Great Hall now, so why don't we head on back to the castle?"

Harry nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

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Harry left Ginny at the Great Hall and made his way to Sirius' rooms. He remembered Sirius telling him where they were and quickly went there. He stood in front of a portrait of a large black dog with a wolf and stag accompanying him. Harry had to smile as he looked at the picture. It was very nice replica of Sirius, Remus, and his dad. Now what was the password?

Oh, yeah! "Marauders."

Harry chuckled, the portrait and password were perfect, and no one else would think twice about it if they didn't know what it meant. Harry stepped into Sirius' living room and looked around quickly taking in a couch to the right with armchairs adjacent to it. There were two doors, one on each side of the room. Harry quickly called out, "Sirius?" so that the man didn't have to worry about him being an unwelcome guest.

Sirius came into the room from the door on the right and with a big smile wrapped Harry in a hug. Harry welcomed it, as he hadn't been able to really spend time with his godfather in a few days. They stayed like that for a few moments before letting go. Each wore a bright smile.

"Hello, Sirius."

"Harry, how are you?" he asked, leading his godson to a nearby couch.

Harry sighed. "I've been better. But I'm good. How about you?"

Sirius frowned. "What's wrong?"

Harry shook his head. "It's nothing. Just stupid stuff, nothing to worry about. What's up with you?"

Sirius didn't look like he wanted to drop the subject. "What do you mean stupid stuff? Is something going on between you and Ron?" he asked, concerned.

Harry shook his head once more. "No, nothing like that." He paused. He didn't want Sirius to know the whole truth, at least not until Snape could be allowed to escape from the man if he wanted to, and right now he couldn't. So he settled for a partial truth. "Dumbledore wants me to talk to Snape. And I don't want to."

Sirius' eyes darkened. Yep, it had been a good idea to keep the whole truth from him. "Why?"

Harry shrugged, hating lying to his godfather, but knowing it was necessary for the moment. "I dunno. But I don't want to see him right now."

Sirius smiled. "Don't worry, you won't have to."

Harry smiled back, even knowing that if Dumbledore was to order him to go see Snape, Sirius wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Just to placate his godfather, he changed the subject. "So what have you been doing?"

"Oh, just this and that. Been doing stuff for Dumbledore, and no, you can't ask what so don't even bother," Sirius said with a smile.

_Figures_, Harry thought with a smirk. "Have you talked to Dumbledore about you and Remus teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class together?"

"No, not yet. There's still plenty of time for that, but we'll probably have to start talking about it soon, or else Remus and I won't be able to get the lessons done…" Sirius turned thoughtful. "There's a lot to go into being a professor, Remus told me a bit about it," he said to Harry. "Maybe we should start on it sooner rather than later."

Harry snickered. "Maybe."

Sirius smiled. "But I still have to come up with a new name."

Harry was thoughtful for a few minutes, seeing if he could come up with something for his godfather to use that wouldn't give himself away. It took him a bit, but he finally thought of something. "What about James Winchester? Professor Winchester."

Sirius smirked. "Winchester?"

"Well it's an interesting last name at least. It's a type of rifle. Hey, at least I didn't suggest John Smith."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I don't think that would be believable."

"No, I don't think so either," Harry said with a smile. "But hey, it's just an idea, you can do whatever you want. You don't have to take my idea. It's going to be your name."

Sirius nodded. "True. But I do like using James though." There was a sad tint in his eyes as he said it, but it soon turned to happiness. "James would be thrilled. What about James Evans? It may be a little conspicuous, but we'll ask the Headmaster about it."

Harry grew sad for a moment as well, thinking of the parents he lost all those years ago. But knew that they would probably laugh themselves silly if they could see Sirius teach using their names. "It sounds great."

Sirius was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Harry looked up and groaned quietly. "If my luck lately has been anything to go on, I know who that is."

Sirius smiled. "It may just be Remus, kid. Don't jump to conclusions."

Sirius stood up to see who was at the portrait entrance. Harry hoped that it was just Remus and not….

"Albus."

Lovely.

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LMSO!!!!!! LOL that is just too funny. I'm sorry, I had to do it. I hope you guys liked the longer chapter. I'm so excited for the next chapter! I hope you all like it and don't think I'm rushing things here…but anyway, I'll get the next one out quick cause I'm so excited about it I can't keep the scenes out of my head!

Anyway, let me know what you think, there's a lovely button to be pushed right below there. Press it for me and tell me what you think? …pretty please?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and stayed with me so far. I really appreciate it!!! New chapter coming soon!!!! –Jen


	12. Exposed and Confessions

Chapter 12

"Albus! What a surprise. Do you need something?"

Harry smacked his forehead. Now Dumbledore was _sure_ to think that absolutely nothing was going on inside the man's rooms.

He heard Dumbledore chuckle and say, "Hello, Sirius. I need Harry, please."

"Why would you think Harry's here?" Sirius still wasn't doing a great job of covering up the fact that Harry was, indeed, there.

"Because of the way you're talking. I need to see Harry, please."

He saw Sirius take a deep breath before saying, "Look, Albus, I don't want Harry near Snape right now, all right. He says he wants some time away from the man, so can't you just give it to him?"

"Sirius, I'm sorry but this doesn't concern you."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Harry smiled as his godfather became indignant for his godson's sake. "Anything about Harry concerns me. I'm his godfather!"

He heard the older wizard sigh. "Yes, Sirius, I know. But I need to speak with Harry." Harry could tell that Dumbledore's patience was growing thin, and he didn't want Sirius to get in trouble for him, so he stood from the couch and walked over to Sirius.

Before Sirius could say anything, Harry called out, "I'm coming, Professor."

Sirius spun around to see Harry walking toward him. "Harry, you don't have to go."

Harry nodded sadly. "Unfortunately, I do. It's all right, Sirius. Really. I'll come see you later and we can finish talking."

Sirius seemed reluctant to let Harry go, so he wrapped his arms around his godfather and whispered, "Thanks for trying though."

He felt the arms around his shoulders tighten. "Anytime."

Harry pulled away and with one last smile, he followed the Headmaster away from the loving arms of his godfather and closer to the angry grip of his Potions Professor.

The two wizards didn't talk as they made their way through the halls of Hogwarts. Harry didn't have to ask where they were going. Even if the path they were taking hadn't told him, the actions and past verbalized wishes of the Headmaster would have.

Even though he knew what their destination was going to be, Harry still wasn't happy when they stopped in front of the Hospital Wing doors.

"Professor!" Harry said, anger and frustration deep in his voice.

"Harry, please." Harry knew it wasn't a request, which only made him that much more upset. Combine that with his sleep deprivation and you have the possibility for a very volatile situation.

Harry walked in before Dumbledore when he motioned for the teen to enter. Harry saw the same blue armchair that he had sat in the previous night sitting exactly where he left it. Assuming that that was where he was suppose to sit, he stalked over to the chair and sat down angrily. Even Snape didn't seem to want to say anything to the boy just yet, and risk getting his head cut off.

Harry stared straight ahead, his body language telling those in the room that he was most displeased with the events that had transpired. Soon, he was able to see Dumbledore walking toward the wooden chair out of his peripheral vision. Only when the Headmaster sat down did he turn is eyes to the man.

"Yes, professor? What can I do for you, now?"

Harry saw Snape open his mouth, but a quick hand raise from Dumbledore silenced him. "Harry why are you so angry?"

Harry raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You're joking, right?" he said with as much respect as possible. "Why on earth would I be angry about being dragged back in here to talk about something that I don't want to talk about, let alone do?!"

Dumbledore seemed to be as passive as ever and Harry wondered if the man would loose his seemingly unending patience with him today. He knew he would deserve it, but it didn't mean he would wish it on himself.

"If you want to talk about something, fine, we can talk. Just not about the aforementioned things that I'm not going to discuss. You want to talk? All right, what's Voldemort doing? What is he up to?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "He isn't doing anything right now. He's just biding his time."

That concerned Harry. He knew that if Voldemort wasn't doing anything publicly, that he was plotting something. And that was never good. "Great, now because of me we don't have any idea what he's planning."

Only when Dumbledore said, "What?" did Harry realize his mistake. Oops.

Harry sighed. "I didn't mean to say that…Look, I know what you're going to say, 'Harry, it's not your fault, don't even think like that.' 'Okay, professor, I won't. It wasn't my fault.' Okay great, now can we move on?" he asked, frustrated with his loose tongue. Sleep deprivation shows itself in many forms. Lovely. "So, what else to talk about? Well, we could talk about Sirius' new name that he came up with. It's a great name, you're going to love it."

"Harry-"

"Or, we could talk about what he and Remus are going to do about sharing duties as next Defense professors. It's quite confusing actually. Are they going to teach together or is Sirius just going to teach on the days that Remus is unable to teach?"

"Harry!"

Harry quickly shut his mouth. He was afraid that he had stretched the Headmaster's patience too thin. But the look in his eyes wasn't anger, it was deep concern.

"Harry, please. What is wrong? You never act like this."

Harry took and deep breath and then let it out. No, he didn't act like this. The only reason he was is because he couldn't get a decent amount of sleep, not to mention the vision that he saw that Snape was practically begging to see. Why did he want to see that anyway? He experienced it, it was probably painful enough to have to go through, let alone see from his "master's" eyes.

"Harry, you didn't sleep last night, did you?"

Harry's eyes quickly went to the clenched hands in his lap. His sleeping habits were not something he wanted up for discussion either.

"I'm fine, professor. Really." Yeah sure, like Dumbledore was going to believe that.

"Harry." Only when the young man lifted his eyes to Dumbledore did he continue. "Why didn't you sleep last night?"

_Okay, that's it! _he thought. All sense of keeping what he was going through to himself went out the window as everything from the past two days came down on him and crashed. They wanted to know what was going on? FINE! He'd tell them what was going on.

"You want to know why I didn't sleep last night?" he asked harshly. "You really want to know?" he asked, looking at Dumbledore, then to his professor still sitting up in bed, and then back to Dumbledore. "Fine, I'll tell you. You want to know why I don't close my eyes for more than two seconds? It's because of him." Harry looked and pointed to the Potions Master before turning back to the Headmaster. "I see myself torturing him. And why I don't go to sleep? Well, it's pretty much the same thing, really. Except I get to torture him even more before giving him to the Death Eaters, letting them have their 'fun' before getting him back for myself. But then I grow tired of that and just kill him. Isn't that something that you would like to go through every time you try to sleep or close your eyes, hm?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. The look of disbelief and surprise from the Headmaster's face told him that he probably couldn't talk.

"Although it _was_ absolutely brilliant to watch him disappear into thin air while Voldemort was raging mad. Absolutely wonderful. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. You wanted to know why I don't want him to get inside my head again, so that he can watch the vision for himself? Use your imagination! I'm sure what you two could come up with is more interesting than the truth. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the reason that I don't want him to see it in my head is because I don't want to see it anymore!" Harry all but yelled. " Yes it's that simple! I've already seen it four more times than I would have liked. First, I had to watch as he was tortured and practically accused of being a spy, first by Voldemort and then by the Death Eaters. I had to stand there and watch the entire thing happen, knowing that he was going to die and knowing it was my fault. He wasn't going to tell Voldemort where I was, where we all are. I could tell. And he knew _exactly_ what that meant. And he was going to let him kill him. And I couldn't do _anything_ about it! Heck, I was the one _doing it_!

"Then I ran down to the grounds, and then back up here to relive the entire thing back to you, and that's two, only to be told that he might not make it through the night. So yes, as stupid as it was, I came down here and sat by his bed for most of the night. Until I unwillingly fell asleep that is, where I dreamed that I was torturing him just for the fun of it before killing him when I 'got tired of it', and I woke up. That's three. Then I had to talk to someone to try to get rid of all this, so I had to chose very carefully, or else I would have an argument on my hands and I really didn't want that. Ron wouldn't understand and would probably get ticked off and not want to talk to me for the rest of the summer. Hermione would be upset with me for not getting enough sleep, but probably would have understood why. Sirius…" he paused thinking of his godfather and the reaction that he was sure to have. "Well, he would argue with me and he wouldn't like my answers to his accusations. And since he's only just gotten back, I'd rather not have to fight with him. So I chose Ginny, who I knew would keep the secret from Hermione and her family if asked. As well as give some advice. And she did. But I still had to go over in my head what happened and then tell that to her, glazing over specific details of course, but I still had to think about it. So there's four.

"So, why on earth would I want to go through it a fifth time if I could help it? If I had to go through it again to save his life, then fine. I'd go through it a _hundred_ more times! But I'm not going to go through it again just so that he can figure out if I'm enjoying the whole thing! I would hope that my father wouldn't have enjoyed it, but hey, I never got to know my father, really. He died before I could even remember him. All I know is what I am told and what I saw." He winced slightly when he remembered how cruelly his father had treated Snape.

"I just…I can't do this anymore! All I want to do is sleep. But I can't. Because sleeping involves closing my eyes, which I can't do without seeing him being tortured to death. And then the actual sleeping part is where I torture and kill him. I can't even close my eyes for more than a few seconds before I have to open them again! You know what, I am this close," he held up his pointer finger and thumb, "This close to just letting him see it so I can stop having to hide in the castle afraid that I'm going to run into you and you're going drag me back here just for me to tell you _again_ that I don't want to show him! You just have to push me that much more, it's not that hard is it?"

Harry rubbed his eyes and was attacked by a fit of yaws. "Well, I think I've answered all of your questions. So, I am going to go do…something. Anything, I don't care. As long as I'm not sitting still or else I'm going to pass out. So, it's been a nice little chat," he said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "But I'm going to go now."

Harry tried to stand, but to his horror he collapsed back into the chair. Oh how lovely. "Harry! Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked, getting out of his chair to stand next to the boy's.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just…can't seem to stand," he said quietly, his eyes averting the Headmaster's.

"Poppy!"

Harry kept his eyes downcast as he heard the Mediwitch answer the Headmaster. "Yes?"

"Could you get me a Dreamless Sleep potion, please?"

Shock ran through Harry at Dumbledore's question and he didn't even hear what Pomfrey responded.

"Harry?" he looked up into the eyes of the Headmaster. "You are going to get some sleep and when you wake up, we are going to have a long talk."

Harry's shock only lasted for a moment. "What else could we possibly talk about?"

There was a look of sadness that crossed Dumbledore's face as he said, "About what you've said."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know half of what I said!"

"I'll remind you."

Madam Pomfrey came back with the vial of Dreamless Sleep in her hand. Harry gazed at it longingly, realizing now how stupid he had been.

Harry sighed. He knew that he had been rude to the Headmaster, and even though he didn't have a great grasp on reality, he knew he had to apologize. "Sir, I may not know all of what I said, but I know that I was rude, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those things."

"I'm glad you did."

Harry's eyes widened with shock. "What?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly, but it wasn't a happy smile. "Everyone needs to vent sometimes. And now I know what's been troubling you. You shouldn't have had to go through that alone, Harry. Why didn't you come to me and tell me what you were going through?" he asked.

Harry broke eye contact again. He didn't want to tell Dumbledore that he had been embarrassed about the whole situation. Snape was fine. He was healing very well. And yet he still had nightmares. Besides, he had been trained as a child to feel as if he was second hand, not good enough to be worried about or even taken care of. As a child, when he had told his aunt and uncle that he had a nightmare, they had laughed at him and told him to get over it. So he didn't exactly had a lot of practice in telling people his problems.

"I dunno."

Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder and Harry knew what he wanted. Harry looked up as he said, "I think you do."

Harry locked his jaws tight together. His loose tongue had gotten him into enough trouble as it was, he didn't need Dumbledore finding out every secret in his head. Dumbledore seemed to understand, and held out the vial, which Harry looked at for a few moments before Dumbledore started speaking again.

"I want you to take this vial, go over to that bed over there," he said, pointing to one of the beds a few down from Snape's. "And go to sleep. We'll talk later."

"But I can't sleep now, it's the middle of the day! And what will my friends think when I don't show up for lunch or dinner? Besides, I'll never be able to sleep tonight."

Dumbledore held up a hand to calm the young man down. "Harry, you can barely walk. And don't worry about your friends, I'll tell them that you're here–"

"Wait, what will you tell them? You can't tell them about this!"

"Why not?"

"Because they don't need to know! No one else needs to know about this. Honestly, I'll sleep fine in a few days, I don't need them worrying and thinking that I'll never be able to sleep again. Ron will stay up and make sure I sleep and lose some himself! Please, professor, you have to tell them something else, anything else!"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment. "Harry, what's wrong with your friends worrying about you?"

"Because they don't need to worry themselves about me, I'm not-" For some reason that statement actually was processed in his brain before he had an opportunity to say it. And for the first time since entering the Hospital Wing, Harry finally caught his loose tongue. It would not due for him to finish that statement. Dumbledore would never let him leave his sight again.. And the rest of that sentence wasn't something Harry wanted out in the open.

"You're not what, Harry?" Dumbledore was jumping to conclusions. And from the look on his face, he was jumping to the right ones.

"I won't be responsible for that."

"That's not what you were going to say. Harry, what were you going to say?"

Harry started to eye the vial, wishing that the contents would just find its way down his throat and into his system so he could have more time to think of a different answer. Right now, his brain was fried and he couldn't think of another sentence that started with "I'm not" that would pacify the elder wizard.

"Nothing, forget it," he said quietly, exhaustion was creeping up on him faster than the early fog in London. If he didn't get that dreamless sleep potion soon, he would pass out and it wouldn't be good. So he did the only thing that would make the man drop the conversation. "Professor, I don't feel so good."

Dumbledore dropped the subject, thank God, and helped Harry over to one of the beds past Snape. Harry laid down, pulling the covers over himself as Dumbledore handed him the vial. Wasting no time, Harry quickly downed the bitter tasting liquid and laid back down on the bed. He was shocked at how quickly the potion took effect; his eyes were already drifting shut, but he only got a flash Snape on the floor before it disappeared altogether as the bliss of a nightmare free sleep claimed him.

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When Harry finally woke up, it was dark outside. He took a quick look at his watch and saw that it was five o'clock. Harry sighed, he was still so tired. He turned to his left and saw Snape fast asleep in his bed two down from Harry. Harry turned over and closed his eyes, but opened them as quickly as he had closed them, afraid of the images he would see. But confusion went through Harry like a lightning bolt; he didn't see anything. He closed his eyes again, and sure enough, he didn't see anything. Harry sighed once again, but instead of it being in frustration it was in relief.

Harry turned over and closed his eyes once more. Ready for some more sleep, even though he had already slept for more than fifteen hours already, he made himself comfortable and drifted once more into sleep.

However, this sleep wasn't going to be so peaceful.

Harry was once more looking down upon the defenseless form of Snape. It only took a few moments before the torture and pain filled screams from his victim began. After several curses and stressful minutes later, he handed the man over to the Death Eaters to deal with for a while.

As he was watching the scene unfold, Harry seemed to jump from Voldemort's body and onto the ground beside the evil wizard. Harry tried to go to his professor now that we was out of Voldemort, to protect him, but his feet were planted to the ground. _No! No, Snape!_ Harry was powerless to stop the torture and the screams that echoed in the chamber. No matter how much he may have hated the man, just hearing him scream for not telling Voldemort where he was, was enough to make the hate and anger flee from his body and turn into concern and fear for the defenseless professor.

Suddenly the spells stopped, and Harry could hear Snape's panting from within the mob of Death Eaters. His breathing was erratic and harsh. Then the Death Eaters unfolded from around the man and stood in a line behind him. What Harry was unprepared for was Snape looking up and straight into his eyes.

"Professor?"

"You're not worth this, Potter. I should have just told him where you were. I would have gladly have tossed you out of the castle and into his waiting arms if I had known that this is what would happen to protect you. Why would I want to protect the son of my greatest enemy?"

Harry was shocked. And even if his feet weren't glued to the floor, he couldn't have moved. Snape's words hit him hard. He wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth anything. His aunt and uncle had been right.

Suddenly, his friends started to appear next to Snape. Hermione kneeled next to the Potions Master before looking up at him with an angry fire in her eyes. "How could you let this happen, Harry? It's all your fault!"

Before he knew it, all of his friends and family were echoing Hermione's words. Sirius and Remus had joined along, saying, "Who would want you for a godson when you lead people to their deaths?" "We're not going to die for you!" Harry could almost feel his heart breaking at their words.

Mrs. Weasley was saying, "How could we have been so stupid? You're not worth having over anymore. You just put our family in danger. I don't want you anywhere near my family again!" Mr. Weasley was nodding in agreement.

And even Dumbledore was joining the fray. "You're just a disappointment, Harry. You should have taken care of this already. If you had, Severus wouldn't have been in this situation. And neither would we."

Harry felt tears streaming down his face at the judgment from his friends and family came crashing down on him. Then Voldemort and his Death Eaters turned their wands to the group and picked up where they had left off with Snape. Their screams filled the room, and Harry could only put his hands over his ears to try and block out their screams.

"No! Stop! I'm not worth it! Take me instead!"

But his please went unheard as Voldemort started laughing. The evil laugh made Harry shiver. Then Voldemort spoke for the first time. "This is all your fault, Harry. You cannot save them. It is all your fault." There was a green hue coming from Voldemort's wand and Harry knew what that meant.

But before he could see Voldemort kill his family, he yelled, "NO!"

Harry opened his eyes to find himself sitting up in bed, tears streaming down his face. He turned over and pulled the sheet over his head. That had been one of his worst nightmares. He tried to stem the flow of his tears, but they just seemed to keep on coming. The weight of everything from the past few days crumbled around him and memories and insecurities that he wished he could forget came back.

"Poppy! Get Dumbledore down here, now!"

Harry was confused for a moment. The voice sounded close to his bed. But the only person that was suppose to be in the room was….

_Snape!_ Oh no. Snape must have woken up to his screams and came over to wake him. Oh gosh, how embarrassing! He could only hope that Snape would go back to his own bed and that he could get the tears to stop before Dumbledore came into the room.

Knowing that Dumbledore was sure to come rushing in at any moment, he grabbed his sleeve and started to dry his tears and clean his face as best as he could in his position. Thankfully Snape didn't feel the need to pull back the sheet, he had seen enough already. More than Harry really wanted. And he was sure to tell Dumbledore. Great.

Sure enough, Dumbledore came bursting through the doors only a few minutes after Snape's orders to Madam Pomfrey.

"Severus? What's going on?"

"He was having a nightmare, I believe."

Harry cringed. This day was starting off great. He knew that Dumbledore was going to want to talk about everything and he wished he could just curl up and die. Harry made sure that his face was dry so that when Dumbledore pulled back the sheet, as Harry was sure he was going to do, he wouldn't see the evidence.

Harry closed his eyes in anticipation of what was going to happen as he felt a dip on the side of his bed. Slowly, Harry felt the sheet being pulled away from his face and pooled across his stomach when Dumbledore released them. He hoped that Dumbledore would think he was sleeping, but something told him that Dumbledore knew he was awake.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

Harry kept his eyes closed. He really didn't want to talk about this. He didn't have any idea what Snape heard and it could be either kind of bad or absolutely horrible.

"Harry?"

Harry sighed and opened his eyes before turning over to see Dumbledore sitting on his bed and Snape on the bed next to him. So much for not having a lot of attention. "I'm fine, sir."

"What happened?"

The question wasn't directed at himself but at Snape. Harry felt his stomach clench at the possibilities of what the man heard. But for some reason, he wasn't saying anything. Harry chanced a peek at the man and saw him staring intently at Dumbledore, and Dumbledore was staring back. Great, he was _showing_ the Headmaster what happened! Now he'd never figure out what Snape heard and saw. He could have screamed in frustration!

Harry saw Dumbledore's eyes widen and his mouth drop open slightly. Harry cringed. Yup, it was going to be absolutely horrible. Harry saw Snape blink and he knew that he was done showing the Headmaster what had transpired in the course of Harry's nightmare. Before he had the chance to look away, Snape turned his gaze to Harry. There was no hatred in his eyes, which surprised Harry, but he couldn't find any emotion in them at all before he quickly looked away. Unfortunately, looking away from Snape made him catch the Headmaster's eyes. The concern written in them was so deep that it made Harry's heart contract. Dumbledore was worried. And he was worried about him.

Harry looked away, not wanting to have the conversation that was sure to happen.

"Harry, would you come with me to my office?"

Harry was shocked. Dumbledore wasn't going to make him talk in front of Snape. Well, that would make things slightly easier. But it was still just after six in the morning, and the two men could still get two more hours of sleep at least before starting their day.

"Sir, please, it's still early, you can go back to bed and we can have this conversation later."

"Harry, you're not running from this anymore."

Harry sighed. "I know. But you don't have to loose sleep over this." _I'm not worth it._

Dumbledore heaved a sigh of his own. "Harry, it's all right. I'm already awake and I won't be going back to sleep until tonight. Come on." He stood and waited for Harry to do the same.

_This is not going to be pleasant_, Harry thought as he got up and followed the Headmaster out of the Infirmary and toward his office.

Harry stomach felt like it was rolling around like crazy. It definitely wasn't a fun feeling, and he was sure it wouldn't go away until the conversation with Dumbledore was over.

All too soon they came up on the gargoyle and Dumbledore said, "Fizzing Whizbees." Harry really didn't want to have this conversation. He _really_ didn't want to have it. But unfortunately, he had no way of escaping it, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to, just to go back to hiding in the castle or outside.

So, Harry sat down in his regular chair and waited for the interrogation to begin. However, it didn't start immediately. First, Dumbledore went into his cabinet and brought out, to Harry's surprise, his pensive. Dumbledore took a memory from his head and placed it in the pensive. He turned his gaze from the pensive to the young wizard in front of him.

"Harry, I know you don't know what Professor Snape saw, so I'm going to let you see if before I ask you about it, okay?"

Harry was surprised that the man was going to let him see what happened, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. But he nodded and quickly took the plunge into the bowl.

Harry found himself back in the Hospital Wing and turned to see Snape stirring. And he could hear why.

"No…"

Harry felt himself turn red. This wasn't going to be easy to see.

Snape opened his eyes and he heard himself say, "Professor…no."

Snape's head quickly spun around to Harry. "Potter?"

Harry didn't say anything else for a few moments, and he hoped that he wouldn't say anything else. But, sure enough, he did. "Not…worth it….my…fault…" and to his horror, tears started to run down his face.

"Potter?" Snape said a little louder and started to get out of his bed. But he still didn't wake up.

"Stop! I'm not worth it! Take…me…" Harry started to turn more quickly on the bed.

Snape made quick work of the distance between himself and the young wizard in obvious distress. "Potter!"

"No!" Harry finally jolted up in bed, his eyes flying open. Harry knew what happened from here and sure enough, he was taken from the pensive and back into the chair in Dumbledore's office.

Harry couldn't believe that he had a nightmare in front of Snape, of all people! And now Dumbledore had seen it too. He would have a lot of explaining to do to the Headmaster.

"Harry?"

Harry sighed. He had to come to grips with the fact that Dumbledore was not going to let this go. The look in his eyes told him that much. Dumbledore would know when he was lying, so Harry knew he couldn't just brush off a topic. He knew the Headmaster was worried about him, which made him feel…wanted and cared about. And after the nightmare he just had, it was welcomed.

So Harry readied himself to tell his Headmaster the truth, truths that he hadn't even confided in his best friends.

Harry lifted his head to look into the worried eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "Yes, professor?"

"What were you dreaming about?"

Harry took a deep breath and paused before diving in. "I was in the same place I was last time, with Voldemort, Snape, and the Death Eaters," he told the man before averting his eyes once more. "I was torturing him again and then let the Death Eaters have him. But this time it was different, I left Voldemort's body and I was standing in the room. I tried to help Snape but I couldn't, my feet were glued to the floor. I couldn't move. And then the Death Eaters stopped. And when they moved back Snape looked at me. And he said…he said that I wasn't worth it. That he would have tossed me into Voldemort's open arms if he knew the cost of protecting me. Especially when he hated me. Then all of you showed up. The Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, and even you. You all started telling me that it was my fault that he was there, that you were all there. Sirius and Remus said they didn't want me as a godson. And you were disappointed in me." Harry swallowed against the lump in his throat and finished. "Then they started torturing all of you. But I woke up before he could start killing everyone."

There was silence from Dumbledore for a while. Harry didn't want to look up, for fear that he would see the same disappointment that had shined in his dream version of the Headmaster.

"Oh, Harry."

Harry looked up to see sadness now mixed with the deep concern he saw earlier. "Harry, I am not disappointed with you. And your friends would never accuse you of the things that they did in your dream. And you know Sirius adores you, he would never cast you out like that; Remus wouldn't either."

Harry nodded weakly. "I know."

"Then where is this coming from?"

Harry knew he could just shrug and deny that he had no idea why he dreamt that dream, but it was always a great fear of his that his friends and, now, family would eventually reject him for one reason or another. How was he suppose to put that into words to the Headmaster? He hadn't even told his best friends! But, for some strange and unknown reason he had the urge to spill his guts.

"I…I don't really know how to tell you…" he said, uncertainty lacing his voice.

Dumbledore seemed to understand. "Take your time."

Harry got his thoughts together and still looking down, he started telling the Headmaster about how the Dursley's treated him, as if he were just above dirt. He told him about how they told him he wasn't wroth anything and how much of a burden he was on them. His aunt and uncle never liked magic and pretended that it didn't exists, so when things happened that couldn't be explained, he got punished for them. As if he had any way of controlling what he did. He didn't even know he was a wizard!

Somehow, he found the words to tell the Headmaster what his home life was actually like. Not the façade that he put on to make his life appear less pathetic, but the truth. Which shocked him slightly.

Dumbledore didn't interrupt throughout Harry's speech, and allowed the teen wizard to let all of the doubts and forcefully repressed memories to come forth and relieve him of his burden.

Only when Harry finished did he become nervous once more. He realized all the things that he told the man and wondered how he could have told him all of those things. But now, Dumbledore was just sitting across from him, staring at him through wide eyes. The sparkle was gone from his eyes after hearing what Harry had to say.

_You wanted to know,_ he thought sarcastically. But Harry wondered what the man would do now.

Harry was surprised that, when the Headmaster did do something, it was to close his eyes and put his head in his hands. After a few minutes, where Harry became exponentially more concerned and anxious, Dumbledore looked back up with something that Harry could only describe as guilt in his eyes.

"Harry, I'm so sorry."

Harry's confusion went into overdrive. What did he have to be sorry for? "For what?"

"Harry, I left you in their care. I knew it would be difficult for them, but I never thought they would result in telling you that you were unwanted. And the way they treated you was abominable; they never should have treated you that way. You didn't deserve to be treated that way."

Harry averted the man's eyes. However, that was the last thing he needed to do at the moment. Because once he did, Dumbledore connected the dots.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Of course I do. I know perfectly well that they shouldn't have told me that they didn't give a damn about me."

However, about the not deserving it…Dumbledore had only known him for six years. The Dursley's have known him his entire life.

"Why didn't you come to me and tell me what you were going through these past few days?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry vaguely remembered Dumbledore asking this question earlier, and he had brushed off the question.

Harry shrugged. But Dumbledore wasn't taking that as an answer. "Harry, please tell me."

Harry seemed to be a sighing machine lately. "But I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because it's stupid. It's stupid for me to care about this at all!"

Shaking his head, Dumbledore said, "No it's not. If you didn't care about what Severus went through I would be worried. It's just who you are. You care about everyone and everything. And you worry too much."

"I know I worry too much. I mean, he's healing fine, better than you or Madam Pomfrey expected. I heard you the other night. So why does this still bother me?"

"Because you're you. And you wouldn't be you if you didn't worry about him. He went through a terrible ordeal and you witnessed the entire event, not knowing the outcome. Of course it would effect you. I just didn't anticipate how much, and for that I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault."

Dumbledore didn't say anything else on the matter, but did go onto another topic.

"Harry, why did you go to the Hospital Wing in your invisibility cloak?"

Harry was shocked at the question, as he didn't know what relevance it had to their conversation. But answered anyway. "Because I didn't want to be seen."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to have Snape ask me to show him the memory again. I don't want to."

Dumbledore nodded. "But was there another reason?"

Harry paused. Was there another reason that he didn't want Snape to see him? Yes, there was. He didn't want to see the hatred and hear the loathing in his voice after all that Snape had gone though. And he told the Headmaster as much. "Well…it's just, when I was in the Hospital Wing with you and him, he went back to how he was in the classroom. I just don't want to hear how much he hates me in just one word, not after what I saw."

"Harry, have you ever felt like this before? As far as I knew, or saw, you didn't really care that he had those feelings toward you."

The young wizard sighed. "I haven't. The only time I've felt like this was the first day I got to Hogwarts. At the Feast after the Sorting. He was talking to Quirrel and all of a sudden he looked at me. I knew he hated me right from the beginning and I had no idea why. I was so confused and no one would tell me why he hated me so much. Until the end of the year when you did."

Dumbledore nodded, obviously remembering their conversation. And Harry kept talking. "I realized how much of a prat my dad was when I went into Snape's pensive," he winced slightly at the memory. "I felt horrible, but he wasn't telling me anything and I just wanted to see if anything in there would tell me what was going on. But it turned out to be the memory of that day after the OWLs." Harry paused as the memories flashed through his mind of how cruel his dad was to his professor. "I can't tell you how awful I felt. I mean, how many times had I been compared to my dad? And this is what he was like? And to make it all worse, Snape was right about my dad all along.

"But I'm not like the man I saw. And you'd think of after five years he would realize that. But no. He's too caught up in the fact that I look like my dad, almost to a tee, to realize that I'm not like the man he once knew. If he wanted to find that man in this school, he should look in his own house! He'd find it in the form of a Draco Malfoy. But hey, he loves his Slytherins, so why would he even care?" he finished sullenly.

Dumbledore took a deep breath before letting it out again. He seemed to weigh his words before he spoke them. "Harry, he doesn't hate you. He hates what you represent. You represent all of his tormented school years that he had with your father. Every time he sees you, he remembers what your father did. However, he is not without blame, of course, but all he sees is how your father treated him unfairly."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I know what that's like. I guess I wouldn't be thrilled with someone who looked exactly like Dudley came into my life all of a sudden."

"What do you mean you 'know what that's like'?" Dumbledore asked, concern flooding his eyes.

Harry took a deep breath of his own before he answered the Headmaster. "Dudley and I went to the same primary school. He hated me almost as much as his parents did and he wouldn't let anyone be my friend. I had no one because no one wanted to stand up to Dudley. He could knock you out as soon as look at you, and no one wanted to risk getting injured. So, to placate Dudley, they all turned on me. Everyone.

"So, I know what it's like, being the outsider, being the brunt of every joke known to mankind. Children are ruthless, especially at that age. Heck, they're ruthless now."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't think I can apologize enough for what you've been though, Harry. But you and Severus may have more in common than you both realize."

"I doubt it. But, why does he hate me so much? Is it just because of my dad's features on my face? Or is there something else? I mean, if it's something that I've done, it's a lot easier to fix than if it's just because of my dad. I can't bring my dad back to apologize for what he did. I don't know if he even apologized to Snape while he was alive, or even if he felt sorry for what he did."

Dumbledore shrugged. "I don't know if he did or not. But even if he did, Severus probably wouldn't have accepted the apology. But I'm sure you're dad is proud of you for breaking the generation of hate that had been between your dad and Professor Snape."

Harry chuckled. "Would he? Or would he be disappointed that I was worried about Snape? I mean, they hated each other so much."

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm sure he would be proud of you, Harry. Both of your parents would be." Harry smiled back. "But as to your question about why he dislikes you so much, I'm afraid you'll have to ask him that."

Rolling his eyes, Harry said, "Yeah, like that'll happen. That sounds like a lovely conversation; 'Hey, professor, I was just wondering why you hate my guts?'"

Dumbledore shook his head with a small smile on his face. "I'm sure it would be a wonderful conversation."

"Wonderfully awkward. Besides, I want to gain his respect, not have him pity me."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing back into the plush armchair. He was still tired, but nothing that he couldn't handle until the evening when he could have another sleeping potion. When he opened his eyes once again, he saw an odd look on Dumbledore's face. When he gave him a questioning look, the Headmaster shook his head.

"Why don't you ask him now?"

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Why don't you ask him now?" Dumbledore repeated.

Harry stared at the professor, almost as if wondering if the question was somehow meant to be funny. When he realized that the man was not joking, he chuckled harshly. "Yeah, sure. That sounds like a great plan."

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I rather liked it myself."

"You do know I was being sarcastic, right?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course. But I still think you should ask him."

Harry sighed. "Well, I'd rather not. I've got a better idea, why don't _you_ ask him and then let me know what he says. I'm going to go back to the common room and wait for my friends to get up so we can go and have a _great_ day."

Harry stood and made his way to the door, but was stopped when the Headmaster said, "Be careful."

Harry looked back, confused as ever, but nodded just the same before turning around and opening the door.

_Oh my…_ Now he knew what Dumbledore meant when he said "Be careful." Because when he opened the door, he couldn't walk out.

Because Snape was standing in the doorway.

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*ducks and covers* Sorry guys!! I just couldn't stop writing, and so that means a late update. But I hope this chapter was worth it. I LOVED it, personally, but again, that's just my view. Let me know what you think, and I hope the longer chapter was worth the wait!

I don't know when I'll get the next chapter out, but I am working on it. I'm going on vacation for a bit, but I will write when I can.

By the way, there's a nice button down there for you to push that has your name on it :-D. Let me know what you think of the chapter!!!!


	13. Reaction

Hey all!! Here's the chapter!!! I hope you like it. I've got more stuff at the bottom, so go ahead and enjoy the chapter!!!!

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Chapter 13

Harry stood there for a few seconds, as if not comprehending that Snape was there. But it suddenly hit him and he closed the door quickly, leaning against it and staring at Dumbledore with wide eyes. Giving him an intense look, Dumbledore got the message and Harry heard, _"Yes, Harry?"_

"_How long has he been there?"_

"_I'm not sure."_

"_What do you mean you're not sure? You know everything that happens around here."_

"_I don't know everything. I'm not omniscient, Harry. Besides, he knows how to not alert me of his presence right away."_

"_Really?" _Harry asked Dumbledore, instantly curious and momentarily forgot about the situation at hand._ "How?"_

Dumbledore smiled_. "I can't tell you that, Harry. You may learn in time, but right now is not the time."_

Harry agreed. Now was the time for worrying about how much Snape had heard of his and Dumbledore's conversation. He hoped that he hadn't heard too much.

"_Harry, why don't you come sit down?"_

Harry shook his head frantically. _"No! I don't want him in here now. Not until I know how much he heard!"_

"_Harry, please come sit. It will be fine. It won't be that bad."_

"_Yeah, for _you. _But it's not going to be a picnic for me."_

"_You worry too much."_

"_I believe we already established that."_

Dumbledore chuckled. _"Yes, we did, didn't we?" _Harry nodded. _"Please come sit down, I promise you that I will make sure nothing bad happens."_

Harry sighed. He really didn't want to see Snape, ever. For all he knew, he heard about what his home life had been like for the past sixteen years. That would not be good. Not like Snape would care, but Harry didn't want him to know. For heaven sakes, he didn't want _anyone_ to know. But now Dumbledore did; and that was already one person too many.

"_Harry, I'm sure he didn't hear that part of our conversation."_

Harry could have smacked himself. Dumbledore was still listening. Great. Harry carefully tried to erect his barriers again as he walked back to the chair that he had vacated moments before, knowing that Dumbledore would get the message and leave his mind. Sitting down, Harry closed his eyes in anticipation of Snape coming into the Headmaster's office.

"Severus, please come in."

Harry winced. He did not want to talk to that man right now. But it didn't matter what he wanted because he heard the door open and the footfalls of Snape come into the room. Harry melted into the chair, trying his best to keep hidden from the man as he walk behind the chair that he was sitting in, and sat down in the chair next to him.

Harry saw Dumbledore look from himself to the professor. "What did you hear, Severus?"

Harry had been waiting to hear Snape's voice, but Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. "Out loud, please, Severus."

As Harry had feared, Snape was trying to show Dumbledore what he had heard, so that he didn't have to tell Harry at the same time. Thankful, Harry sent a small smile to Dumbledore to simply looked at the young wizard. But Harry understood.

"Where did you start listening into our _private_ conversation."

Dumbledore didn't raise his voice, but the disappointment was evident in his words.

"Mr. Potter was informing you of the events at the Feast in his first year."

Harry could have hit his head against Dumbledore's lovely wooden desk. Snape heard a lot more than what Harry would have liked. However, it was done, and nothing Harry could do to change that.

"I believe you both have a lot to talk about," Harry started to panic slightly. The way Dumbledore was talking, he was talking like he was going to leave. "So why don't you two face each other and talk this out like gentlemen?"

Harry sent a pleading look to Dumbledore who was looking between himself and Snape. When neither turned to the other, Dumbledore motioned with his hands, as if pushing the two to face each other, and Harry was no longer looking into the kind blue eyes of Dumbledore but the dark obsidian eyes of Snape. Harry quickly averted his eyes. Harry didn't know what to expect and definitely wasn't going to initiate anything that he didn't need to.

Dumbledore was, apparently, willing to wait for one of them to say something, because he had yet to say a word, and it had been several minutes since Dumbledore told them to talk. It didn't look like Snape was going to start, so Harry guessed that he should show good faith and start the conversation.

"So, professor," Snape, who had turned his gaze to Dumbledore, looked back to the young Gryffindor. Harry couldn't think of what to say and turned to Dumbledore for help.

Dumbledore, who finally seemed to acknowledge that neither could start the conversation that needed to be had, spoke up. "Severus, do you have anything to say about what you heard?"

That was _not_ where Harry wanted the conversation to go. Well, if he wanted to control the conversation, he should have thought of something to say before turning to Dumbledore.

When Snape didn't say anything, Dumbledore tried another route. "Do you still have the same opinions of Mr. Potter that you had before?"

Harry was looking at Dumbledore, but was paying special attention to his peripheral vision.

"No."

Thoughts raced through Harry's mind at Snape's words. What changed his mind? Did he not hate him as much? Would things change now? What did the professor think of him now? _What made him change his mind?_

"What is your opinion of Harry now?"

Harry was holding his breath in anticipation of the man's answer. Why did it matter so much to him? Harry couldn't even answer the question, but knew that he didn't want to keep going on like this, with Snape hating him so much. Not after everything that Snape went through for him and his friends.

"He is not as much like his father as I had previously believed."

Relief poured through Harry when he processed what Snape said.

"Really?"

Harry finally spoke up and looked into the eyes of Snape, who nodded. Harry smiled a little. "What made you change your mind?"

Snape took a little while to answer, but eventually said, "A few things. Mainly, you've acted like you actually gave a damn if I live or not. You didn't like me. You probably liked me almost as much as the Dark Lord." Harry went to interrupt, but Snape held up a hand. "Maybe a little more. However, not by much. Am I wrong?"

Harry sighed. "No. I couldn't stand you," Harry thought for a moment and chuckled. "Something we have in common."

"We've always had that in common, Potter."

Harry smiled. They were actually holding a polite conversation. This was new. "But I never wanted you dead. Or to go through what you did."

Nothing in Snape's eyes changed, nor his posture. But something in his voice alerted Harry that Snape meant every word. "Another thing we have in common."

Slightly confused, he wondered what exactly he meant by that. Did he mean that he didn't want himself to go through that? Or was it that he hadn't wished what Harry had been through on him? Harry shook his head, it didn't matter. Dumbledore had been right. "What else changed your mind?"

"What I've seen you do. The way you've acted, in more ways than one. You've tried to keep your…suffering from other's knowledge. You didn't want the added attention. This contradicted one of my theories about you. You didn't go around telling everyone what you saw; I was surprised. You suffered in silence: a true Gryffindor." Snape made a face, but Harry smiled. "You hated me, and yet you ran down to the grounds only to fall asleep by my bed. Why?"

Harry sighed. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. Madam Pomfrey told us that you were going to recover, but only if you made it through the night. So I just…I don't know, professor. I may not have liked you, but you went through a lot. Even if it was _Malfoy_ in the hospital wing, and he had done what you did, I probably would have done the same thing."

Snape stared at Harry for a long time. What he was looking for, Harry didn't know. "The Headmaster is right. We do have a lot more in common than we thought."

Harry snickered. "I guess two is more than we thought, isn't it?"

Snape nodded, but continued. "There's more than two, apparently."

Harry counted in his head. Hating each other, and not wanting harm to come to the other. He thought that those were the only things so far.

"Not just the two that you've said." Harry gave him a look that said to tell him the other things. Snape took a deep breath. "Not wanting to be playing the parts that we have to: me a spy and you the eventual slayer of the most evil wizard of our age. Both being marked by the same evil wizard," _His dark mark and my scar!_ "In more ways than one. We both have prices on our heads, Potter."

"Oh, yeah."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Our school experiences were, apparently, similar." Harry ducked from the view of the Potions Master. Great, he picked up on that too. "And we both can't stand the Dark Lord."

Harry couldn't help but smile at the last reason that the man gave. They did have more in common than Harry thought. Of course, if he had just taken the time to think, he would have seen their similarities sooner. Oh well, what's done is done. At least they could move on from here on out.

Curious, Harry had to voice a question that had been bothering him since Snape had been ousted as spy. "What now?" Harry asked, turning to Dumbledore.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The chairs suddenly positioned themselves to where Harry could now see both Dumbledore and Snape without having to strain his neck to see the elder wizard.

"Well, now that you don't have someone inside with Voldemort, how do you know what he's going to do?"

Harry saw Snape turn to Dumbledore, as if awaiting his answer. "Well, I have a few ideas about what he might do. It's true that we don't know _exactly_ what he is up to, but I have a feeling of some of the things he will try to do. And we will just have to be prepared."

Harry sighed. That didn't sound as good as having someone inside of Voldemort's inner circle to relay his plans. But, at least Snape was now out of harms way…sort of.

Suddenly, Harry's head split in two. Screaming in agony, he gripped his head and suddenly felt as if he was falling and then hit something hard, which added to the pain that he was enduring.

He heard someone calling his name, and gripped it like a lifeline; something to keep him grounded and realize that the pain would soon be over. Sure enough, the pain started to ebb away a few moments after it started. He took deep many breaths before opening his eyes, trying to make the remnants of the pain pass. When he did open his eyes, he saw Dumbledore kneeling next to him.

"Are you all right, Harry?" he asked, concern vivid in his eyes.

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah. He was only mad. Just having himself a pity party is all."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry's attempt at humor. "Why don't you get up off the hard floor, my boy?"

Harry finally observed his surroundings and noticed that he had fallen from the chair. And that Snape was standing behind the old man. Bowing his eyes, he accepted the hand that Dumbledore offered and pulled himself up, effectively ignoring the Slytherin. Dumbledore helped him to the chair and when he moved to go back to his own chair Harry saw that Snape was sitting in his own chair again.

The look that Snape had on his face was one that Harry had never seen before: concern. "Are you quite all right, Potter?"

Harry nodded as he averted his eyes from the professor. He would have preferred Snape had not his attack in all of its painful glory. Snape had already known that there was a connection between himself and Voldemort, but he had never actually seen what happened Harry felt Voldemort's wrath. And it seemed to have rattled him.

"Are you sure you're all right, Harry? Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded emphatically. "No! I mean, yes I'm fine, I don't need to go to the hospital wing."

Harry saw a smirk come upon Snape's face at his response. "Did you see anything, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No. He was just stewing about how Snape escaped and is probably recovered and lying safe in his own bed here instead of being six feet under. And he was thinking about me, of course, about how much he wants to kill me once and for all."

There was a look that passed through Dumbledore's eyes that Harry didn't like. But it was gone before he could identify it. "Is something wrong, sir?"

Dumbledore smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "No, my boy, there isn't. I'm just sorry that you have to endure these things."

Harry was suddenly confused. "Professor, I've practiced Occlumency. I had my barriers up when he got angry. How could I still have felt that?"

Dumbledore took only a moment before answering. "Well, you are not as skilled an Occlumens as Voldemort, Harry. So it is expected that he can get the better of you. That is why you must continue to practice."

Harry nodded in understanding and agreement. "Yes, sir."

"Are you sure you don't need to go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sure."

Dumbledore seemed to look straight into Harry to determine if he needed the mediwitch. Apparently, he agreed with Harry, and nodded. "Very well."

Harry smiled and was raising himself out of his chair when Snape spoke. "Potter, my I ask a favor?"

Surprised, Harry sat back down. "Sure."

He realized just a moment too late what Snape was about to ask for. "May I see the memory?"

_He's as stubborn as mule, he is_, Harry thought. Was he never going to give up? "Why?" he asked. "Why, on earth. do you want to see it so badly? You went through it, you know what happened. Why do you need to see it from his eyes?"

The ex-Death Eater gave the impression of shrugging his shoulders with just a tilt of his head. "Curiosity."

"Well, you're going to need a better answer than that to get in my head. What part of 'I don't want to see it, again' did you not understand?"

"I understood you perfectly, Potter," he said with a bite to his tone. However, he lost the tone with his next statement. "You had more than one feeling going through your head at the time, didn't you, Potter?"

Shock didn't seem to be a worthy enough word to describe the emotion running through the wizard at the man's statement. He wanted to see the vision through Voldemort's eyes and see what _he_ was feeling, not Harry. Well, maybe it was just an added bonus that he could know what both of them were thinking. Looking at Snape, Harry had to decide whether or not to allow Snape to enter his mind again. It was looking to be in Snape's favor as he weighed the options. Snape went through it; who was he to keep this memory from him? Maybe he actually had a right to see what happened from the man who inflicted more pain on the world, and on him, than what Harry had thought possible.

Harry made up his mind and it seemed that Snape read the answer on his face. "All right, professor."

Harry closed his eyes and envisioned a door in the middle of the brick wall surrounding his mind. Taking a deep breath, he allowed the door to swing open for Snape to enter. He didn't feel the force of entry that Snape had used on him previous times. He was as gentle as a feather when he entered into Harry's mind, which surprised him greatly. He watched again as Snape was kneeling in front of Voldemort and the questioning commenced. Anger and concern filled him at the same moment, one emotion his and the other Voldemort's. Harry then watched as the torture session began. Harry wanted nothing more than to push the man out of his mind, but something was calming him, and he was sure what. Harry felt a sense of satisfaction when the torture ended and Snape disappeared out from under Voldemort's nose. He could say he felt rather joyful as he watched Voldemort rant and rage at the escape of one of his most trusted servant turned traitor.

The vision ended and went to Harry leaping from his bed, almost as if the bedding had burned him. Harry tried to extricate Snape from his mind, but again, a feeling of calmness filled him. _"One moment, please, Potter."_

He was so shocked at the comment that Harry didn't force the man from his mind. Snape watched Harry, in a panic, as he raced down to the grounds as fast as he Seeker legs could carry him. As the scene progressed, Harry felt his own feelings of panic and uncertainty race once more through his mind when he saw the professor._ At least he got into the grounds where Voldemort can't get to him._ _Is he all right? Will he make it? I've got to get him to Pomfrey!_

Harry wanted Snape out of his mind, and only after watching Harry run back up to the hospital wing, meet with Dumbledore, and yell for the witch, did Snape find his way to the exit door.

Surprisingly, Harry wasn't exhausted as he had been in Occlumency lessons with Snape before. But he was definitely a little tired as he locked the door and then envisioned another layer of blocks behind it to secure his mind. Opening his eyes, he saw pride in Dumbledore's eyes. What the pride was for, he didn't know and didn't think he would ask.

Looking back, Harry was surprised that he had even allowed Snape to see the vision, let alone what transpired as he saw it. Snape actually said "_please"_! Why did he want to see what happened afterward? Probably his curiosity again. Snape was actually being _nice_! That was a hundred and eighty degree change of pace if he ever saw one.

"Thank you, Potter."

The tone was as quiet as whisper, but the gratitude was genuine. Everything seemed to surprise Harry recently.

Harry smiled softly and responded in kind. "You're welcome, sir."

The smile on Dumbledore's face looked like it would split it in two. "Well, I believe it is time for breakfast. So unless either of you have something else to say…" Harry looked at Snape, who looked back at him. When neither spoke up, Dumbledore continued. "Very well, let us go eat."

Harry looked at his watch and was surprised to find that it was already after eight. They had been talking for two hours! Time sure did fly.

Speaking of flying…

His friends weren't going to be up for a while. Harry thought that it would be a perfect time to get some extra flying in before they did. It was better than waiting in the common room doing homework, after all. So Harry stood with the two men and walked down to the Great Hall.

The walk to the Great Hall was silent and awkward. Harry filled his thoughts with what he was going to tell Ginny when she awoke. Man, was she going to be surprised. Heck, he wasn't even over his shock yet. Breakfast was quick and quiet. There was no one for Harry to converse with, for Snape and Dumbledore went to the Head Table to eat, leaving Harry to his own devices for the rest of the morning. He was definitely looking forward to a few hours outside.

It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, several actually. Snape no longer hated him and Dumbledore finally knew the truth about his home life. Neither conversation had been pleasant, but he was glad that they had happened. Things were sure to be all the better for it.

After finishing his meal, Harry stood and took out his wand. "Accio, broomstick," he said as he exited the Great Hall. Once at the Entrance doors, he saw his beloved broomstick flying toward him. He opened the doors, grabbed his Firebolt, and then jetted out of the castle and toward the Quidditch Field.

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After a few hours, Harry figured that his friends would all be awake and decided to take a trip to the Gryffindor Common Room. Tilting his broomstick up and toward the castle, Harry sped to the common room window.

Harry found the window and stopped in front of it. He saw his friends standing together talking, and decided to wait outside until one of them spotted him. Boy, would they be surprised.

The first person who spotted him was Fred. His reaction was hilarious. His mouth dropped open and he ran to the window and quickly opened it.

"Harry!"

"Hey, Fred!"

"What are you doing out there?" The rest of the group joined them.

"I was doing some practicing and decided to see if you guys were up yet."

"Such a nice way to inquire, Harry," Ginny said with a smile and a light in her eyes.

Harry smiled. "I thought so." Harry had a throwback to his talk with Dumbledore just hours before. Creepy.

"Why don't you come in and come to breakfast with us?" Hermione asked.

Flying into the common room, Harry said, "I'll go with you, but I've already eaten."

"You've already had breakfast?" Ron asked. "When?"

"A few hours ago. I got up early," he explained to the surprised and disgusted red head.

The cluster of teens made their way noisily to the Great Hall. Harry pulled Ginny back a little from the rest of the group and told her that he had some news to tell her after their meal. She agreed to take another walk after she had finished eating. Something told Harry that she would be eating quite swiftly to hear what he had to say.

Sure enough, it wasn't ten minutes before Ginny had eaten all that she wanted before nodding to Harry. The group didn't seem surprised that the couple were leaving them again, which made it easier for them to escape.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as they walked away from the closing Great Hall doors.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, marvelous actually."

Ginny nodded. "I thought so. You're looking loads better."

_Great, she noticed._ "Was I not looking good?"

She took a moment to answer. "You just looked drawn; really tired and frustrated."

"Really?" Harry said, trying to find a way to leave this conversation in the dust. The only way he knew how to do that was to introduce the topic that Ginny was anxiously waiting for him to discuss. "Well, do you want to know what happened?"

When Ginny nodded enthusiastically, Harry wasted no time in starting the story. Once they were a few feet from the castle, Harry told Ginny about his conversation with Dumbledore, and then with Snape. He glanced over the parts of their conversation that included his previous home life, of course. He told her about his surprise when Snape showed up and his astonishment at Snape's reaction to Dumbledore's questions.

"You see, I was right."

Harry smiled. "I know you're right, but what about in particular this time?"

Ginny returned the smile and shoved Harry slightly as they got to their regular spot on the lake. "About Snape changing his opinion of you. Remember when I…accidentally stopped in front of the hospital wing? I told you that he would see you for who you are and not for what you look like."

"As usual, you were right," Harry conceded.

Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment, looking out onto the lake, before posing a question. "Harry, can I ask you a question?"

Curious as to why she was so hesitant, he consented. "Did you show him the vision?"

He wondered why he didn't think that she would ask the question. She was naturally curious and had a great memory. "Yeah, I did."

Ginny waited for a moment. "And?"

Chuckling, Harry said, "Well, he saw the vision, which I wasn't too thrilled about. But I figured that he deserved to see it. But then he saw what I had done right after I woke up, he wanted to see what I did." Harry remembered hearing Snape's voice saying, "One moment, please, Potter." He was still surprised that Snape had actually said "please", and told Ginny what happened.

Ginny's eyes were wide as saucers when she heard what Snape did. "Wow."

Harry had to agree. Snape just didn't say "please". At least, he didn't use to. Maybe things were changing for the better. "Yeah. Not only that, but we were pretty much done talking when Voldemort decided to get his knickers in a twist."

She knew exactly what that meant, and she continued to wear the wide eyed look from his previous statement. "Oh no. Are you all right?" concern flooding her large eyes and looking over him as if trying to find something wrong.

Harry laughed. "I'm fine, Ginny. Really."

Ginny didn't look too convinced, but let the topic go. "What did he do when he saw that?" she asked, her insatiable curiosity still unsatisfied.

Harry's eyebrows knitted together as he thought. "I don't know. All I know was that he was standing behind Dumbledore when I was able to open my eyes again. But he the experience definitely jarred him. He was actually _concerned_ for me."

Harry could tell that the events continued to surprise Ginny as much as they himself. "Things seem to be changing don't they?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, they do. But I still would have preferred him not see that. Talk about embarrassment."

Ginny smiled in sympathy. "I know, Harry. And I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

Harry waved it off. He was used to Voldemort getting ticked off at one thing or another. His only worry was that the evil wizard not try anything before they could figure it out. But he decided to not add that worry onto Ginny.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?"

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Hey guys!!! Up sooner than you thought isn't it?? Well, I would have continued, but I wanted to get this up for you so you didn't have to continue waiting in suspense. I'll be working on the next chapter as much as I can in these next few days (I'm spending time with my dad, so I don't have a lot of time to write).

Quick question for you all: I mentioned that Remus and Sirius are going to give Harry memories for his birthday. Any ideas on what memories to give him? I have a few, but I'd like some more. And what kind of gifts would you like to see Harry get for his 16th birthday? Anything you want him to do on his special day besides eat cake and open presents?

I hope the pace isn't too quick, but I'm coming closer to the end, and I've got my ideas all situated for the next several chapters. I hope the chapter was to your liking. If it was, please let me know! Starving authors love reviews!! Especially good ones!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing regularly. You don't know how much I appreciate it!!! -Jen


	14. Gifts and Attacks

Hey all! Here's the next chapter. I'm super super sorry about how late it is. It's not beta'd but once it is, I will post it again, so please excuse any errors. I hope you enjoy it!!!

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Chapter 14

Three days had passed since Harry's encounter with Dumbledore and Snape, and things were finally starting to get into a routine. Their day consisted of flying, being lazy, and doing the rest of the Gryffindors' respective homework. Ginny was the odd girl out with being a year younger than the other three, and couldn't put her two cents in about any questions that they had. However, she was getting plenty of help from two of the three older teens with her homework.

"I am _so_ over this!" Ron swore, throwing his quill across the room.

"Ron!"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I don't like homework as much as you and I _don't_ want to do any more tonight!"

Harry came to his friend's rescue. "Hermione, we're all tired. Why don't we just pick this up tomorrow?"

Hermione was not happy. "But we can't pick it up tomorrow. You have to get it done tonight!"

Harry laughed. "Why? What's so important about tomorrow that we _have_ to complete the rest of our essays by tonight?" Hermione hesitated. "Uh, huh. That's what I thought."

Hermione dropped the subject and got up from the table in the common room. "Fine. I'm going to bed. _I_ don't have to worry about completing _my_ assignments. You can do whatever you like without me."

Harry immediately felt bad as he watched Hermione walk to the staircase. "Hermione, wait." Harry got up and went over to his friend and when she turned around to see what he wanted, he pulled her into a gentle hug. When he pulled away, the fire in his best friend's eyes had died down. She smiled.

"Thanks, Harry. You guys go ahead and do whatever you want. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry returned the smile and returned to their table as Hermione made her way up to her bed for the night. Ginny stood as Harry got back to the table. "Don't tell me you're leaving now, too?" he pouted.

Ginny gave him one of her sweet smiles that he had been seeing a lot of. "Sorry, Harry. I'm beat and it's late. We'll hang tomorrow, all right?"

Harry let her go with a kiss and a wish good night. He watched her walk up the stairs and turned to Ron. "Looks like it's just us now."

Ron smiled. "Hard to have a party with just two."

Harry had to agree. "Guess we should follow their lead?"

Ron nodded. "Guess we should. Get a good night sleep and be ready for the wrath of Hermione tomorrow morning."

Harry laughed at the fake dread in Ron's voice. The duo now made the walk to their own beds.

Harry was jarred out of his peaceful sleep by someone jumping up and down on his bed yelling, "Harry! Come on, Harry, get up!"

Harry bolted upright and saw Sirius jumping on his bed with a large grin on his face. "Sirius?" he asked, groggy.

"Get up, Harry!"

Harry laid back down and pulled the covers over his head. It was too early to be up, in Harry's opinion. It didn't matter that it was probably closing in on noon.

"You've been asleep for hours. The night is over," Sirius informed him, continuing his jostling of Harry.

"I'm still tired, Sirius!" he complained.

"Oh, come on. You can go to bed early tonight if you want to.

"Please?"

Harry pulled the covers back just enough to see huge puppy-dog eyes looking back at him from Sirius. Harry assumed that so much time as a dog, Sirius had picked up the heart breaking look at some time.

Groaning, Harry threw the covers back and slowly pulled his feet over the side of the bed. Sirius leapt off the bed and ran over to pull him from the bed. Sirius shoved him toward the bathroom, obviously wanting Harry to get ready for the day. Resigning himself to his fate, Harry finished up in the bathroom and went back into his room. Sirius had laid out his clothes and at this point, Harry was starting to become suspicious. Something was obviously going on. He had never seen his godfather act like this before. He assumed that he was going to find out sooner or later, so he didn't worry about it. Sirius told him that he would wait downstairs for him, and gave Harry his privacy.

Dressing quickly, Harry finally started to wake up and got more curious about what was going on. Making his way quickly out of his dorm and downstairs, he wondered where Ron was and why he didn't wake him up earlier.

The only person in the common room was Sirius who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, practically hitting the ceiling in excitement.

"Calm down, Sirius. There's nothing that can be that exciting."

Sirius seemed to think otherwise because he continued to smile. Without saying another word, Sirius shifted into his dog form and bolted toward the portrait and out of the common room. Harry rolled his eyes and followed his much too excited godfather out of the room.

Sirius was waiting at the end of the hall for Harry and barked when he saw him come into view. Harry increased his pace as he made his way down the hallway and soon realized where they were headed, and it confused him even more.

Harry watched Sirius practically prance down the staircase and stop in front of the closed Great Hall doors. When he got down to the Entrance Hall, Sirius changed back and suddenly, the world went black for Harry.

"What?!" Harry screamed, stopping in his tracks afraid that he would fall. "Sirius! This isn't funny. Have you gone bonkers?"

Sirius lost it and started to laugh hysterically. Harry was _not_ amused. If he could see, he would be sending a death glare at Sirius for his stunt. Suddenly there were hands around his arm and were guiding him forward. It wasn't Sirius, because Harry could still hear his laughter in front of him, which was growing louder with every step he was taking.

"Who's that?"

"It's me, Harry. Don't worry," Remus said to his right. "And shut up, Sirius."

Sirius finally calmed down and his laughter promptly ceased. "Oh come on, you know that was funny."

"I know nothing of the sort, now let's go."

"What's going on?" Harry asked again. "I am so confused."

"You'll see."

Harry sighed and let himself be led like a dog on a leash. He heard the doors to the Great Hall open and, without pausing, Remus walked them through.

Suddenly, the blindfold was gone and bright lights blinded Harry for a moment. But before his eyes fully adjusted, he heard "Surprise!"

Harry blinked in shock as he was passed from friend to friend with, "Happy birthday, Harry" ringing in the air. A large smile couldn't help but form when he finally shook himself out of his shock. He had never had a surprise birthday before, and he never thought he would receive one. Looking around at all of the people who had gathered together to celebrate his special day was very touching. To tell the truth, Harry had forgotten that it was his birthday with all the excitement of the summer since Sirius came back. So he was extra surprised.

"Thank you," he said shyly.

Mrs. Weasley made her way towards him with a levitating cake beside her. Once the very large cake was placed on the table, she enveloped the young wizard into one of her famous hugs. It took Remus coming over to rescue him utill Mrs. Weasley released him. Harry was corralled over to the table where Mrs. Weasley's cake was sitting, lighted like houses on Christmas.

Suddenly, Harry saw an explosion of lights above the table. Looking up, Harry saw the number three briefly before it changed to a two, then a one. Harry was confused until the group started to sing.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear, Harry! Happy birthday to you!"

Harry's face was red with embarrassment, but he had a huge smile on his face. "Thanks," he said quietly. His friends laughed, but Harry was trying to think of something to wish for. He had his friends and family with him. Sirius was back and Snape was being nice to him…what more could he want?

He was quickly reminded of what. Voldemort. If it hadn't been for Voldemort, his mother and father would have been with him for his birthday today. Who knows where they would be right now… But wondering what could have been wouldn't get them anywhere.

Harry quickly blew out the candles on the cake, with his wish in his head. How it was to be done, he had no idea…yet. But he knew he would find a way to destroy the man who destroyed his family.

The clapping from his friends and family awakened him from his depressed mood and he couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Weasley quickly divided the cake and soon everyone was quietly eating their piece. Once he was done, there were presents being placed in front of him. A large smile graced his face. He never ceased to love getting presents.

As he opened his presents, Harry saw the smiles on his friends faces and knew that birthdays were one of the few moments that Harry could be a kid and he planned on enjoying today for all he could.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's gift was the cake as well as something in a small, narrow box. Curious, Harry quickly, but carefully, opened the box. Harry gasped when he saw what was inside the box. "Oh my gosh."

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up from the opened parcel in his hands and saw the expectant looks that his friends were giving him. He couldn't speak, so he simply turned the box around so everyone could see its contents.

A collective gasp was heard along with some "aw"'s from the ladies. The Weasleys had given him a hand for the Weasley family clock. Harry turned to see Mrs. Weasley's eyes fill with tears. Harry quickly stood and enveloped Mrs. Weasley in a hug. "Thank you," he whispered quietly so that only she could hear. Her response was the squeeze him a little tighter.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and he saw Mr. Weasley standing by their side. "You're practically family to us, Harry."

Harry smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

When Mrs. Weasley let him go, Harry retook his seat and continued opening his gifts.

Remus and Sirius had gotten him a small pensieve and a medium sized box. When Harry opened the beautifully crafted box, his eyes went as wide as saucers. "Are these what I think they are?" he asked.

Remus nodded. "If you think they are memories, then yes, they're what you think they are."

As Harry investigated one of the memory vials, he froze. There was a label on the vial that read: "James' First Quidditch Match". Harry gently placed the memory back into the box and decided to look through them in more detail when he was alone. He thanked his godfathers before quickly moving on to Hermione's gift, a book on advanced defense. Ron and Ginny chipped in to get him some of his favorite candy from Honeydukes.

"Remus went to Hogsmead and got them for us," Ginny explained, when Harry thanked her with a kiss.

"Just a thank you will be enough for me, Harry," Ron said, after seeing how Harry thanked his sister. Everyone laughed at Ron's comment, and Harry thanked him appropriately.

"Thanks, Ron."

The party came to a close with Harry and his friends ready to go outside. Harry had finished opening all of his presents, and had gotten at least a card from every person present.

Well, almost everyone.

Snape was standing back, leaning against a far wall, watching the displays in front of him as if watching a show that was only mildly interesting. Harry hadn't expected anything from the potions professor, but he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he hadn't even said "Happy Birthday". Harry shook it off. They had only just entered into their truce, so it was only natural that it would take time for either of them to be comfortable in the other's presence, not after everything that happened in the past five years.

So, Harry stood with his friends, thanking everyone for their lovely presents and cards and was about to head to the door and outside when he locked eyes with Snape. Though they only kept eye contact for a few quick moments before the man turned and walked out the door and into the Entrance Hall, Harry had the feeling that Snape wanted him to follow.

Asking his friends for a minute, Harry quickly followed his professor out into the Entrance Hall, confusion swimming in his thoughts. What did he want? And why was he asking to be alone with him? When the door closed behind him, Harry scanned the Entrance Hall and saw no sign of Snape, which confused him even more. Where had he gone? Had he gone to the dungeons? Did Harry imagine that Snape had wanted to speak with him?

Suddenly, a small box floated in the air in front of him. Startled, Harry took a step back, but then moved forward to take the box. Nothing harmful could get into Hogwarts, he was sure. However, he was still cautious as he opened the box. The hinge opened easily and inside was a note. Curious, Harry plucked the note from the open box and read: "Use this in case of an emergency. It worked well for me. – S."

Confused, but now certain there was nothing harmful inside the box, he brought it closer to him so he could view it's contents. A small smile graced his face as he looked at a necklace. It was a simple round silver circle and on it was the letter "O". The dots were not difficult to connect. Looking around, Harry could not find the man who bestowed upon him this gift, but knew he was surely watching. "Thank you," he said softly, smiling as he took the necklace out and put it around his neck.

It felt a little strange to have something that Snape gave him, and that Snape had used to save his life, but it proved that he was past the bitterness of the past and was willing to move forward. Once the necklace was around his neck, Harry watched, stunned, as it disappeared.

For the first time, Harry looked back at the vision willingly, watching as Snape's head rose with defiance and his hand jutted down his robes to clench something invisible. The necklace was an invisible portkey once it was worn. Harry couldn't help smiling but then realized quickly what this meant. Snape didn't have an emergency portkey anymore. Well, he wasn't going to Voldemort anymore, but if there ever was a need for it, Snape wouldn't have it. However, he thought, Snape surely had another emergency portkey and wouldn't have given Harry his only one. With this thought in his head, he checked again to make sure that the necklace was in place before placing the box and note into his robe pocket so that no one would question it. Taking out his wand, Harry summoned their brooms so that he would have an excuse for leaving his friends. With the brooms in hand, and box stowed safely away, Harry scanned the Entrance Hall one last time before going back into the Great Hall to gather his friends for a game of Quidditch.

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Harry's birthday had been amazing. He never had so much fun on his birthday before. And that was one he was never going to forget, he thought as he got out of bed. The day had been filled with Quidditch, relaxing, and enjoying each other's company. It was truly a day of rest.

Harry couldn't help playing with the necklace around his neck as he walked down to the common room and, with his friends, down to get a late breakfast. It made him feel safe knowing that he had a way to escape if he was in a circumstance that he had to get out of and get back to Hogwarts quickly. He had wondered the previous night as he climbed into bed, how to activate the portkey. He had touched it to make sure it was still there before going back to grab his friends from the Great Hall after the party, and he hadn't been transported outside to the grounds.

As he and his friends walked in and sat down at their usual table, and quickly checking the staff table, noted that most of the order was still present, including Snape. Harry wondered how he could approach the man and ask him. Should he go up and ask to speak to him? Should he wait until he was done with his meal and follow him out of the Great Hall? As he was pondering how best to handle the situation, Snape's eyes snapped up and locked onto Harry's.

It seemed that Snape knew that Harry had been thinking about him, and this gave him an idea. He wasn't sure how to ask without words, but said in his mind, "I want you to read my mind." It sounded silly to him, but when he heard Snape respond, he almost fell out of his chair in surprise.

"_Yes?"_

Harry smiled. It worked. _"I was just wanting to thank you, again, for the gift."_

"_And?"_

Harry tried to control the large smile that was wanting to spread across his face, giving away his secret conversation. _"I was wondering how it works. When you used it,"_ he said, batting back the images that continued to try to make themselves known_. "You didn't say anything and you disappeared. I thought you just had to touch it, but when I did, it didn't do anything."_

"_You have to think the 'secret word' when you have it in your hand." _

"_And what might that be?"_

"_The place it take you. Hogwarts."_

Harry smiled. Of course. He was about to respond when Ron interrupted his thoughts.

"What's so funny, Harry?"

Harry looked over to see his friends looking at him with the same question in their eyes. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

When his friends went back to eating, and Harry had started filling his plate, he wondered if Snape was still there._ "Thank you, professor."_

He could practically hear Snape nodding his head in acknowledgement, which was weird in and of itself, before realizing that Snape was no longer in his head. Harry shook his head before starting on his breakfast.

As they finished their meal, Hermione reminded Harry and Ron that they still had homework to do, and strongly suggested that they finish it up today so that they could have the rest of the summer vacation to not worry about it. Harry agreed, knowing that he would regret it if he were to wait until the last minute, but Ron was not going so easily.

"Come on, Hermione, it's just after Harry's birthday! We shouldn't have to do homework today!"

Hermione shook her head. "Oh, Ronald, it's not like it's _actually_ Harry's birthday, when you _actually_ got a break from homework. Get over it, and just get it done!"

When Ron turned to Harry, practically begging for some support, he hated to burst his friends bubble, but agreed with Hermione. "Sorry, Ron. I think we should just get it over with. It's just one more assignment anyway…"

Ron's ears went red and he said under his breath, "Traitor," before standing up and with his head raised in defiance, started to walk toward the Great Hall. Harry and the others had stood, going to follow him, when Ron, who wasn't watching where he was going with his nose so high in the air, stumbled over a bench and practically fell over.

Ron quickly picked himself up and moved quickly toward the entrance as Harry and the rest of the gang followed, laughing at Ron's expense. However, the laughter only continued for a few moments more before Harry screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

_Harry saw several Death Eaters standing in a circle, looking expectantly at him. "My friends," Voldemort said quietly. "I am sure you are all wondering why I called you here at this hour. I have a new plan to capture Harry Potter and teach the traitor Snape a lesson." The Death Eaters were all looking at him expectantly._

"_We are going to attack Hogwarts."_

_The shock was not missed throughout the circle, however no one dared to question his decision._

"_Avery, McColly." Two Death Eaters stepped out of the ranks. "May I assume that you know what I am expecting of you two?"_

"_Yes, my Lord. We know what we need to do." Harry recognized Avery's voice._

_He nodded. "Very well. And need I say what will happen if you fail?"_

_The two men shook their heads and answered, "No, my Lord."_

_Apparently Voldemort thought they did, because the last thing Harry heard were the screams of the two men, writhing on the floor in pain._

As Harry became aware of the "real world", the pain in his head didn't lessen as he heard someone talking. However, he soon realized that he was repeating something and once he concentrated enough on it, he heard himself saying, "Dumbledore, Dumbledore" over and over again.

Harry finally regained his grip on reality and stopped chanting, trying to make the rest of the pain in his head go away.

"Harry, I'm here. I'm here," Harry heard Dumbledore saying.

Harry was panting as he tried to tell Dumbledore what he saw.

"Attack. Voldemort is going to attack," Harry got out before he had to take more breaths.

"Where, Harry? Where will he attack?"

Once Harry's head cleared, he finished his sentence. "Voldemort is going to attack Hogwarts."

He could hear the gasps of the people who surrounded him. Unfortunately for Harry, everyone that was there for his birthday party was in the Great Hall, so there were a fare number of people present. This fact just made Harry ecstatic. Yeah, right.

Harry was finally able to open his eyes; the pain had finally faded. However, the sight in front of him made him want to run for the hills. Dumbledore's eyes were wide and devoid of their usual sparkle. Mrs. Weasley was holding onto Ginny while Mr. Weasley held onto Mrs. Weasley. Ron and Hermione were holding hands and giving each other worried looks, as were Remus and Sirius…sans the hand holding.

"When, Harry?"

Harry looked up at Dumbledore, who was kneeling at his side and propping him up with his arm. Snape, Harry noticed, was standing on his other side, his expression as unreadable as ever.

"In two weeks," he said simply.

Dumbledore sighed. Harry wondered what they would do now. "All right. Molly," he called, looking toward her. "I need you to take everyone to Grimmuald Place - it is safe now - while we decide on what to do."

Harry was shocked. "But, professor, why can't I stay and fight? Voldemort isn't going to be expecting anyone to be prepared to defend Hogwarts."

Dumbledore shook his head. "You're not ready to face him yet, Harry."

"Then teach me! Teach me what I need to know to be able to defeat him. I can hold my own against him, I have ever since I met him. Now, I just need to figure out what to learn to defeat him."

Harry wanted to fight, he was tired of waiting around for his deathbed. If Voldemort wanted to fight on his home turf, fine, but _he_ was going to be at a disadvantage, not Harry and the Order. The element of surprise was gone, and Harry knew that if they could gain enough witches and wizards, that they could surprise _them_.

"Harry, we can't risk that."

"You mean you can't risk me."

Dumbledore sighed again. "Yes, that's what I mean. Harry, you're not experienced enough to go out before you're ready."

Harry just stared at the Headmaster. "'Not experienced enough'? And what part of my first, second, fourth, and fifth years at Hogwarts did you not follow? I fought him four times, five if you include when I was a baby, and I survived! Maybe it was luck, but I still survived. You can't say that I didn't learn anything from those experiences. I'll need to learn how to defeat him sooner or later, professor. Why not start now?"

"Because you don't need to face him again until you are prepared."

"Then prepare me! Professor," having an idea Harry turned to Snape. "Would you help me? You know him better than anyone here. You'd know how I could defeat him, you'd be able to help me. Please?"

Snape's usually blank expression turned to shock for a moment before being replaced with his usual façade. However, Snape wasn't the one who spoke next; it was Sirius.

"What? Harry, why would you ask _him_ for help? I thought you wanted to stay away from him?"

Harry turned to Sirius to see surprise and hurt in his eyes. Harry immediately felt guilty. "I did, but that was then. We've come to a truce. Sort of. I think," he said, sliding a glance at Snape, who nodded slightly. Harry smiled. "We're okay now."

Sirius's eyes lit on fire. "How could you even want him to help you? You have enough people to help you, you don't need _him_."

"Sirius! That was uncalled for. Yes, I have lots of people to help me, but Professor Snape can help too, maybe the most. He _is_ an ex-Death Eater, after all. He can help me almost as much as Professor Dumbledore can." Harry paused. "I don't want to fight with you, Sirius."

"Then take back your offer."

"No! I can't. I want his help, and I need it too. And I need yours. Will you help me too, Sirius?"

Sirius never answered Harry's question, but instead turned his back and practically stomped out of the room.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled after him, trying to get up so he could go after him and talk some sense into his bias godfather. However, a hand rested upon his shoulder, and Dumbledore spoke again.

"You can go to him later, Harry. He needs to cool down first. Remus?" Remus nodded to Dumbledore and quickly left the room, presumably to help with Sirius' cooling down process.

When Remus left, Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "Please, professor?"

Harry left his question hanging while pleading with Dumbledore, not through words, but with his mother's vivid green eyes. Minutes passed and Dumbledore had yet to say a word. Then Snape spoke up, surprisingly, to Harry's defense.

"Headmaster, Mr. Potter is right. The Dark Lord tries not to underestimate him, but he does so at every turn. He will not be expecting an army to put up a fight when he comes calling in two weeks. If we can send a clear message to him, whether Potter fights him or not, that he is not welcome at Hogwarts at any time by showing brute force, then he will be forced to retreat and will not try to attack this castle again with such a defeat hanging over him. At least not until he is able to win another major victory somehow. And besides, Potter needs to know how to defeat him, and why not start now?" he asked, echoing Harry's own words.

After Harry picked up his jaw from the floor, he turned to see a small sparkle return to Dumbledore's eyes after Snape's speech, and with that, a sense of hope that he could finally learn how to beat Voldemort.

"I think that can be arranged," Dumbledore finally agreed.

Harry smiled and would have jumped for joy if it wasn't for his next statement. "You and your friends will start training tomorrow with myself, Professor Snape, Remus, and Sirius, if he consents. I will get back with you about a time."

Dumbledore was about to stand when Harry grabbed his arm. "Wait, you can't mean that you're going to let Ginny, Ron, and Hermione fight?"

"Why not, Harry?" Hermione asked. "We've been with you through everything so far, why not this?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt! Any of you," Harry said, looking around at all his friends. "I don't want you anywhere near this fight."

"Harry," Ginny started, kneeling down next to him. "Ron and Hermione have been with you since the beginning. And I went with you last year to the Ministry. We're not going to leave you to deal with this alone. We didn't then, and we aren't now."

Harry shook his head. "But don't you see. I put all of you in danger by taking you to the Ministry. I got Sirius _killed_. I don't think this is a good idea."

"But it's numbers, Harry," Ron said, deciding to add his two cents. "We just need to intimidate You-Know-Who. And besides, like Hermione and Ginny said, we're in this together, mate. We always have been, and always will be.

"You can't get rid of us that easily, mate."

Harry was not happy to say the least. He definitely didn't agree with what was happening. Having his friends on the firing line was not on Harry's top ten list of things to include in this fight.

"Then it's settled. Harry, why don't you come with me to see Madam Pomfrey?"

Harry was definitely not in the mood. "No, I'm fine."

"Harry-"

"No. I'm not going. I feel fine now, I don't need to see her." Harry stood, despite the continued protests from Dumbledore. "I'm going to find Sirius and knock some sense into that godfather of mine. I will make him see sense if it's the last thing I do."

Harry quickly ran out of the Great Hall, leaving a gaggle of people behind him all yelling for him to come back.

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After leaving the Great Hall, Harry stormed off toward the Room of Requirement. "Accio, Marauders Map." After making the map appear, he started looking for his two godfathers. When he located them in Sirius' quarters, he continued his stomping toward said rooms.

Harry made it to the portrait in record time and angrily said the password before stepping into the living area where Sirius and Remus were sitting. They both looked up when Harry walked in the door and wore shocked expressions on their faces.

"Listen up, both of you. I'm sure you've gotten past what happened all those years ago, Remus, but you need to grow up, Sirius. Just because you and my dad had a feud with Snape at school doesn't mean that I have to continue that lovely tradition. He has done so much for me and my friends, heck, for you too! You're a grown man, Sirius! How can you still hold a grudge from almost twenty years ago?"

"Because he killed your mum and dad!"

Harry stopped, mouth open, ready to keep going when his brain processed the statement. "Wh-what?" _No, Voldemort killed them._

"Sirius," Remus warned.

Sirius ignored his friend and stood from the couch that he was sitting in. "Snape was the one who heard the prophecy and told Voldemort about it. Snape was the one who started this whole mess. If Snape hadn't have gone to Voldemort with that prophecy, Lilly and James would still be alive!"

Harry felt like the wind was knocked out of him. The room started to spin and Harry reached out to grab something, only to find nothing and fall to the floor.

"Harry!"

Sirius and Remus rushed over to him, Sirius reaching him first. "Harry, are you all right?"

Harry was lost in his head. He saw the events that transpired around his parent's murder in a whole new light. He saw Snape listening in at the Hogs Head as Professor Trelawney made the prophecy about the child who would defeat the Dark Lord. He saw Snape go to Voldemort, proud that he had been at the right place at the right time, and told him about the portion of the prophecy that he heard. And the ensuing obsession to find the right child.

He couldn't believe what Sirius had told him. It couldn't be. Snape was a member of the Order, he wouldn't…but he had been a loyal Death Eater at one point in time. He could have heard the prophecy, the first part of it, and then told it to Voldemort. Snape _had_ been a Death Eater; someone who tortured and killed people while under Voldemort's control.

Harry didn't know how to feel about the new information that he had been given. A part of him knew that it wasn't all Snape's fault, it was Voldemort's and Peter's. Voldemort killed his parents. The other part of him wanted to go down to the dungeons and rip the man to shreds for ruining his life.

It was all too much to deal with at the moment, and Harry pushed himself off the floor, not really seeing Sirius or Remus beside him with concern written all over their faces. He turned around and walked back out of the portrait.

"Harry, wait! Where are you going?"

Harry didn't answer. He wasn't sure that he could talk. He walked out of Sirius' quarters and down to the grounds; unknowingly, walking right pass Snape on his way out of the portrait.

Walking down to the lake, Harry couldn't make his mind work. Was what Sirius said true? And if so, how did he deal with this new piece of information? A part of him wanted to rewind the clock and not have gone to talk to Sirius, or yell at him was more like it. However, that could not be done.

Harry stood looking out onto the lake for he didn't know how long. He just stood there, his thoughts so jumbled that he couldn't come up with a clear sentence. Nothing made sense.

Time rolled by, and Harry was oblivious to it. Something else he was oblivious to was another person's presence. Only when his name was spoken did Harry take his eyes from the still water to the source of the voice.

Snape was standing behind him with his usual blank expression. Harry was shocked for a moment, before his thoughts became jumbled once again.

"Mr. Potter, I was outside the portrait when you were talking with your godfather."

He paused, probably waiting for a reaction from Harry, but Harry couldn't react. Snape's words went in one ear and out the other, not meaning anything or making any sense, just like his thoughts at the moment.

"He was right."

Harry's brain finally kicked into gear. "Why?"

He said nothing else, but Snape knew what he meant. "I was a Death Eater at the time. And at that time, I didn't know what the prophecy meant, only that it pertained to the Dark Lord and anything that pertained to him needed to be told to him at the first opportunity. So I did. But I never knew that your family was in danger, of that I guarantee you. If I had known he would have targeted Lily," he paused. "I would not have gone to the Dark Lord and told him."

"Why?"

Snape didn't say a word, he just looked at Harry. Feeling his mind starting to come back around, he tried to decipher anything in the enigma that was Snape's expression. Suddenly, images came to his mind, things he had never seen before. His mother on a swing when she was a child, his mum sitting at a table in the library with books surrounding her, his mum smiling at him while sitting next to him in the dungeons during potions with Slughorn, and his mum smiling and laughing with a girl at the Gryffindor table.

Harry was beyond surprised at the images, but as soon as they began, they ceased. Harry then knew what had happened. Snape showed him those memories of his mum.

Snape had loved Lily.

Too many new pieces of information were being shown to Harry. First, he found out that it was Snape's fault that his parent's were dead. Well, partly his fault, most of it belonged to the man who killed them, and the man who betrayed them. Only to find out that the man who gave Voldemort the prophecy that made him search for and kill his parents actually loved his mother, was just a little too much at one time.

"Oh my…"

Harry crumpled to the floor, again, and this time everything went black.

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Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out. School has been such a PAIN and I couldn't figure out how to do the birthday party scene…it gave me writers block for a month or more…irritating. So I hope it came out alright. Also, I have the next chapter already started and I hope to get it up before Christmas. I hope since this chapter is rather long, it will make up for my tardiness. I hope that you liked it!! Please let me know if you did or not, and if you didn't, please let me know in a constructive and polite way. If all you say is "it stinks", I can't try to fix what "stinks" and grow as an author (even though it is just fanfiction).

Thanks again for sticking with me, and I will get the next chapter up as soon as possible (it has 2000 words so far :-D).


	15. Spill

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Awareness slowly seeped through, Harry realized that there were people around him.

"He's okay, isn't he?"

"Of course he is, Black. He just passed out."

"Well, something is wrong-"

"Maybe right now wasn't the best time to tell him about past actions, Black."

"What time would have been better, murderer?"

"Sirius!"

"What? It's true and you know it."

"Shut up, Sirius."

The talking stopped when Harry made his awareness known. He was not happy with what Sirius had just said.

Harry finally opened his eyes and after a moment was able to focus on the people there. Snape was on his left, while Sirius and Remus were together on his right.

"Harry…."

"Sirius." Harry was obviously not pleased with his godfather.

Harry continued to stare at his godfather and he started to look uncomfortable. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"But, you passed out…"

Harry averted his eyes. He wasn't very proud of that fact. "Well, I'm fine now."

Remus didn't look convinced, and neither did Sirius, but Harry wasn't interested in what Sirius thought. All he could hear was him calling Snape a murderer.

"What happened, Harry?"

Harry became nervous. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't pass out for no reason, kiddo," Sirius said lightly.

"Yeah, well," Harry started harshly, but stopped himself. He didn't want to have another row with Sirius, but he felt like he wanted to rip a new one into Sirius for being so ridiculous.

"Harry, what's wrong? You're not acting like yourself," Remus asked. He had been the second person to ask him that in the past week. And the previous time had ended in Harry spilling his guts. That would not happen this time.

"I'm fine."

Sirius opened his mouth and Harry snapped, "Okay, I'm not fine. But I don't want to talk about it."

"Harry-"

Remus stopped Sirius with a raised hand, instead Remus tried. "Harry," he said calmly. "We're just worried about you. You left Sirius' quarters rather quickly and then we find out that you passed out. We're just concerned."

After hearing Remus's reasoning and calm tone, Harry realized he was being irrational. "I'm sorry. I'm just…I've got a lot on my mind and Sirius, you're not helping."

"What?"

"Your comments, Sirius."

"I don't get it, Harry. You've made a hundred an eighty degree turn. First, you couldn't stand the man, and now all of a sudden you're taking his side," Sirius said, obviously confused and frustrated.

"I was stupid and immature. I didn't know how much he actually did for me, and everyone else, you included. It was just ignorance on my part. And I didn't exactly help matters with my short fuse."

Harry was quite aware of Snape sitting beside him as he explained himself to Sirius and Remus. He didn't dare take his eyes from his two men to his right who both looked rather surprised.

"What happened to change your mind, Harry? I know you, and, if you don't mind my saying, you used to loathe Professor Snape and now you're practically singing his praises."

Harry swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and fought against the images of the vision trying to flit across his eyes. He didn't want to explain the whole situation of what made Harry stop hating his potions professor. "I-" he stopped. What could he say? He didn't know what to say. But all he knew was that he was not going to tell the truth.

"I don't know."

The two men definitely didn't buy it. Ten different things were running through his head, trying to find something to satisfy the curiosity of his godfathers. But nothing was good enough.

Harry did not like the look in Sirius' eyes. He looked between his two godfathers, who seemed to be talking to each other without words. When Sirius turned back to him, Harry felt his stomach turn into knots.

"You're keeping something from me."

Harry winced internally. If Sirius wasn't so stuck on Snape, maybe he could tell him. However, he didn't think Snape would like the idea of Sirius knowing what he had seen. So, out of respect for Snape, not to mention he would want Snape to do the same thing if in the same situation, he couldn't tell him.

Harry sighed and looked down at the covers in his hands. "Yes."

There was silence for a moment. "But you never keep things from me."

Harry had to smirk. Oh, how many things he kept from his godfather, things that would make him red with rage. He hadn't told his godfather a lot of things.

"Okay, maybe I should have said, 'You never keep things that I ask about from me.' I'm not naïve, I'm sure there are things you haven't told me. It's just…You've always been so open with me."

"I know, Sirius. But I just…I can't talk about it."

Sirius looked lost. "Why not?"

Harry felt Snape's eyes on him. "Because I can't."

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Both."

Sirius turned on Snape. "You're making him keep secrets from me!"

"Sirius!"

Snape held up a hand to silence Harry. He lowered his hand slowly as he said, "I am not forcing Mr. Potter to do anything that he does not want, or isn't willing, to do."

"Like hell you aren't!"

"Sirius," Remus said, trying to calm his friend.

"Sirius, grow up!" Harry exclaimed, wishing that he could stand for this conversation. "You all have been out of Hogwarts for almost _twenty years_. Stop acting like you're ten!" Sirius was obviously shocked. "Look, you both have your issues with each other. And that's fine. You don't have to like each other, just be willing to be civil with one another. I mean, come on, you're acting as if you both have something that the other wants and are throwing tantrums instead of just asking politely and actually getting somewhere.

"Sirius, he is not making me keep anything from you. _I_ am making myself keep this from you. I don't want you knowing and I _don't_ want to talk about it again. I've talked about it too much already."

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This was not the way he wanted the conversation to go. Opening his eyes, he tried again. "Sirius," he said gently. "There are some things that you just don't need to know, and this is one of them. But don't take it the wrong way, I want your help tomorrow just like I want Professor Snape's. Please, help me?"

Sirius sighed and after a moment he said, "You know I will, kiddo."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Sirius."

Before anyone else could say anything, Dumbledore walked into the room. "Harry, my boy, how are you feeling?"

"Good, thank you. Can I get out of here? I feel fine."

Dumbledore smiled. "I'd like to talk to you for a minute."

The three men took the hint and stood. "We'll see you later, Harry," Remus said, Sirius agreeing with a nod and a smile.

When their backs were turned, Snape looked down at Harry who quickly held up a hand as he watched Sirius and Remus leave the Hospital Wing with a last wave goodbye before turning the corner.

"Professor, I'm sorry if I said something-"

"Don't worry about it, Potter. You did nothing wrong."

Harry relaxed against the pillows. "Thank you. I just knew that if the positions were switched, I wouldn't have wanted you to tell everyone so…" he shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, it's not really my story to tell."

Snape studied Harry for a moment. "You continue to surprise me, Potter."

Harry smiled. "In good ways, I hope."

Snape nodded and said his goodbyes as Dumbledore replaced Remus in the seat to Harry's right.

Harry saw definite signs of pride in Dumbledore's eyes. "I am quite impressed. I never thought I would see the day that you and Professor Snape would be cordial to one another."

Harry laughed. "Me either. I thought we would hate each other until the day we died."

Dumbledore shared Harry's smiled. "I did tell you that you both had more in common that you realized."

Harry nodded. "I know. And if I had just taken a moment to think about it, I would have seen them too. Maybe. We both didn't want to see it a few weeks ago, and now we can. And it's nice to not have to hate each other all the time."

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand. He is quite loyal, even though most don't know it. But don't tell him I told you that," Dumbledore said, lowering his voice. "Or he would be quite upset with me for comparing him to a Hufflepuff."

Harry couldn't help laughing. Snape would be quite offended to be called a Hufflepuff. "I could so see him going up to your office and having a fit over that."

The two Gryffindors laughed at the visual images that their comments inspired. But once the laughter died down, Harry got to business. "Professor, can I go now? I feel fine and there's no reason for me to still be in this bed."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Harry, you still haven't recovered from your vision. You passed out. You need to rest."

"But I'm fine! Besides, that's not the reason I lost it. I'm completely fine. I just had too much information coming at me at once and I couldn't really handle it. But I'm fine now," he said quickly, hoping to convince the man to let him have a get out of jail free card.

Dumbledore looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Harry hesitated. He thought Dumbledore knew what had happened, and he didn't want to get Sirius in trouble. But then again, Sirius needed a telling off, and Dumbledore was just the man to give it to him.

"I went looking for Sirius after my vision. I wanted to knock some sense into him. When I got there, I asked him why he couldn't let his grudge with Professor Snape go. He told me-" he paused before continuing. "He said that Professor Snape killed my parents."

Harry had never been able to surprise Dumbledore, he always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone. Harry had never seen Dumbledore's eyes widened and mouth drop open like they did when the statement actually processed in his mind.

Harry couldn't help laughing for a second. He had never seen the look of shock, surprise, and anger on Dumbledore's face. He took several minutes before commenting. "I'm sorry, Harry. He never should have told you that."

"I figured. And then Professor Snape confirmed it when he followed me down to the lake."

"How did Severus know you were at the lake? He carried you in here and gave Madam Pomfrey quite a scare."

Harry couldn't see Snape carrying him like a child into the castle. He must have levitated him to the infirmary, Harry decided. But, looking back he couldn't remember going by the man. He barely heard the man speaking before he confirmed what Sirius said. "He said that he was outside listening to our conversation. But I don't remember him being there." He shrugged. "Oh well. I was pretty out of it. But after he said that, he basically told me that he loved my mum. It was just all more than I could take."

"I understand, Harry. It certainly changes your view on a lot of things, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded emphatically. "Yes, it does."

"I will speak to Sirius, Harry. He never should have told you that, as I specifically told him not to."

Harry interrupted on his godfather's behalf, even if he was still angry with said godfather. "He was just upset, professor."

Dumbledore smiled. "I appreciate you trying to stand up for Sirius, Harry. But can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't like me to talk to him?"

Harry paused for a half a second before smiling and saying, "No."

Dumbledore nodded. "I thought so. Now, why don't you go find your friends? I'm sure they're worried."

"Wait, you told them?" Harry asked, worried that the man had said something to his friends.

The Headmaster shook his head, immediately alleviating Harry's fears. "No. You weren't out long enough for me to say anything to them. I just meant that they don't know where you are, and they are probably worried about you."

Harry nodded and quickly got out of bed, said his goodbyes, and got out of there before Pomfrey came out and threw a fit at loosing her patient too soon.

Harry had no idea where his friends were, so he decided to use his map. Then he realized that he didn't know where he left the map. He was suddenly very nervous. He had no idea where the map was; he hadn't been coherent after leaving Sirius' dorm. He had then been met by Snape, so he really wanted to find that map fast.

He whipped out his wand and summoned the map. He was startled when he felt movement in his right pant pocket and was suddenly staring at the map in front of his face. Harry smiled and laughed. He must have put the map away at some point after talking to Sirius and not realized it.

Unfolding the map, he quickly located his friends; they were still in the Great Hall. Confused, Harry made his way back down the stairs so see what was going on.

When he got there, he felt like he should turn around and move quickly in the opposite direction. However, he had already been spotted by his friends. Hermione motioned for him to come over with a smile, but Ron and Ginny were not smiling. It was the look he was getting from Ginny that made him worry. When he first arrived, Ron and Hermione were in a heated argument and Ginny was obviously staying out of it. Now, they were sitting back and no longer huddled together and Ginny was sending him an apologetic look.

Harry walked cautiously toward them and when he got to them said, "Hey, guys. Why are you still here?"

Ron shared a look with Hermione who answered. "We were talking. Harry, we're just concerned."

Harry didn't want to ask why, because he knew that if he did, he would get questions that he wouldn't want to answer. Heck, he probably would be getting questions anyway, but until he knew what was going on, he was going to give short yes/no answers until he figured out what they were looking for.

Harry looked from Hermione's inquisitively concerned face to Ron's frustrated one and then to Ginny's apologetic and frustrated one. He looked back to Hermione and told her without words to continue.

"Harry, we're worried about you. You hate Professor Snape. What's going on?"

Harry sighed. This was not what he wanted to talk about right now. He had just finished telling his two godfathers that he wouldn't tell _them_ what was going on between himself and Professor Snape, and now he was going to have to tell his friends the same thing.

"Look," Harry said, making a decision. "I'm not going to talk about it. Yes, something is going on. Yes, I used to hate Snape, but I don't anymore. And no, I'm not going to tell you what happened, so you don't even need to ask. Have I answered any and all questions that you may have had on this subject?"

Two of his three friends looked shocked while the other was smiling slightly.

"Harry, come on, mate. What's going on? Why can't you tell us what's happened?" Ron asked, obviously upset.

Harry didn't want to have another row, especially with his best friends, but he couldn't tell them what happened. Ginny knew, and she was one too many in Snape's eyes. So he couldn't say anything else. "I'm not going to tell you. I'm sorry."

Ron's ears started to turn red, the tell tale sign that he was getting upset. "Fine. Be like that. You want to take that greasy git's side over your best friends, be my guest. Now, when you get your head out of your arse and want to talk, you know where to find me." And with that, Ron stood up.

However, when Ron started toward the Great Hall door, he stopped dead in his tracks. Harry wondered what was going on, and he turned around.

Snape was staring at Ron. Oh boy.

How did Snape seem to know when Harry was talking about him and then show up at inopportune moments?

Harry turned back around to look at Ron. He was had a seriously freaked out look on his face. Harry had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from smiling. Ginny couldn't hide the smile on her face and Hermione wore the same look that Ron was.

"Mr. Weasley…" Snape said slowly, as if wanting to torment Ron.

"Professor," Harry said, stepping in for his friend.

Snape's eyes slid from Ron's to Harry's before he said, "Mr. Potter, a word."

Harry shrugged his shoulders to his friends before following Snape away from his friends and toward the Head Table. When Snape stopped and turned to face him, they were out of earshot of his friends. "Yes, professor?"

Snape seemed to be weighing something in his mind before speaking. "You don't have to do this."

Harry was confused, as seemed to be a recurring theme when he talked to Snape. "What?"

"You don't have to sacrifice your relationship with your friends over this."

Harry understood what he meant. "Yes, I do. I'm not going to tell them anything. Ron wouldn't understand anyway. He'd still be upset that I'm taking this so far."

"Be that as it may, I still think you should tell them."

Harry did not understand why Snape wanted his two best friends to know about the vision. There had to be some logic behind why he was giving his consent to allow the Gryffindor to spill the beans. "I don't understand, professor. Why do you want me to tell them?"

Snape seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Because it's not worth it."

Harry heard the echo from something the professor heard him say early that morning. He felt defiance and indignation at the comment. "Yes it is," he said, emphasizing each word as his eyes never left Snape's.

"If you won't tell them, I will."

Harry's eyes widened. "No! You can't!" he said a little too loud. After a raised eyebrow from Snape, he clarified, quieter this time. "You can't tell them," he said, pleading that the man wouldn't divulge the information.

"Why do you _not_ want me to tell them?" Snape asked, taking Harry's earlier words, spinning it around, and using them against him. "It lets you off the hook."

"Because they don't need to know! Enough people know about it already and they don't need to be added to that list."

Snape looked closely at Harry, who was trying to decipher anything in the man's expression. "Why don't you want them knowing, Potter? Is it for my benefit, or yours?"

Harry started to answer and then stopped. Honestly, the answer was both. He didn't want his friends knowing that he saw the vision, another reason that he was a freak. He also didn't want them knowing because if it had been himself in Snape's shoes, he wouldn't have wanted _anyone_ to know about it, let alone see it. He would have kept that experience under lock and key in his mind, not to be viewed by anyone.

Snape didn't like Ron or Hermione, so why would he want them knowing such a personal secret as this? It didn't make sense.

Snape was still waiting for a response, and even though he probably already knew the answer, Harry simply told him, "Both."

Nodding his head, Snape said, "I thought so."

Harry didn't know what Snape was going to say next, but decided to wait it out. He was still not fully confident around the man yet, and didn't feel like explaining himself.

"There is a simple way to do this, Potter. Watch."

Harry watched, horrified, as Snape turned and walked away from him and toward his friends. Harry shared a look with Ginny before she turned to look at Snape, exactly what his other friends were doing. He couldn't move, hoping that this was a dream and that he would wake up soon.

Snape said three words. Just three words. "I was exposed." Then he turned and stalked out of the room, leaving Harry to deal with the aftermath. All he wanted to do was to follow the man out, but was pinned by the look of horror on Hermione's face. Harry winced. He did not want to have this conversation.

Ginny stood and made her way to the front of the hall and wrapped Harry in a hug. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't say anything to them, and I tried to get them to stop talking about it, but they just kept on it." Harry sighed. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, eyes closed. "I don't know," he whispered.

"Harry?"

Turning his head toward the hushed voice of his friend, Harry saw that tears had pooled in Hermione's eyes as she realized what Snape's short sentence meant to the man. Harry felt the urge to comfort his friend, so he quickly walked over to her and embraced her as Hermione's knees gave out from under her. "What happened?" she asked through her tear thickened voice.

Harry took a deep breath and sighed. Well, Snape gave him the okay, even if he didn't agree. However, even though Hermione had asked, she wasn't in any shape to hear the response. He waited for her tears to subside and for her to lift her head and sit back down next to Ron.

"You saw the entire thing. Didn't you?"

As much as he hated to admit it, he nodded. "Yeah."

Hermione nodded. "It makes sense now," she said quietly. She looked up. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

Harry shrugged. "It's alright."

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's not. Hindsight's 20/20, but I see now why you didn't want to tell us."

Harry had to smile. Yeah, _now_ they see. However, he had a feeling that the entire order would now know that Harry had seen Snape's ordeal and saved him afterwards. Lovely. Sirius was going to be _thrilled._ Maybe Voldemort would kill him before his godfather got a hold of him, Harry thought.

"So, what exactly happened?" Ron asked, looking slightly confused.

Harry took a deep breath and grazing over a majority of the events, told his best friends what happened between Snape and Voldemort. Told them about how Snape was called, lied, and was then questioned by Voldemort. Leaving out the torturing by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Harry jumped straight to the part about how Snape defiantly told Voldemort that he wouldn't divulge Harry's whereabouts and quickly portkeyed away.

Ginny sent Harry a smirk, to which Harry had to roll his eyes to. Yes, he skipped a lot, but he didn't feel like reliving the details anyway. Hermione seemed to understand and didn't ask for more details but Ron didn't seem to be able to connect the dots.

"I still don't get it, Harry. Is that why you're all 'buddy-buddy' with Snape? Because he wouldn't tell You-Know-Who where you were?"

Harry sighed. The sad thing was that Ron seemed sincere in his question. He was about to answer when Hermione interrupted him. "I'll explain it to you later, Ron."

Harry smiled in thanks. Hermione knew him well. As she should, he thought as he grabbed Ginny's hand and led her outside for his first filling deep breath in weeks, she's known him for six years now.

Hey all, I'm soooo sorry about this long wait. I hate that you have to wait for me to do this, but I have been trying to find out how to do the next few chapters when Harry's starting his training and I'm starting to get a few ideas. However, if anyone has any ideas for me, I'd really appreciate it.

I hope to get the next chapter out soon (like you haven't heard that before…I know), I just graduated college so I'm going to be starting a job in a few weeks (not what I want and definitely not the hours I want, but it's what I can do) but because it's not exactly what I want I will have time to write. However, I have my novel and this story to work on, so it's going to be interesting.

Again, I'm so sorry about all this and I hope that I will have the next chapter up asap. Please let me know what you think and review! 3


	16. The Book

Harry couldn't help thinking about what was going to happen during training that day as he got dressed and ready for the day. Ron was still sleeping, and it was getting close to nine. Dumbledore had told everyone to have a good breakfast and then meet in the Room of Requirement at ten. Harry tried to rouse Ron once more before going downstairs.

Remembering that he had promised Hedwig a visit soon, Harry made a quick detour to visit his owl before going to have breakfast. As he made his way down to the Great Hall, Harry wondered if Sirius would already know about him saving Snape's life. He was sure Snape wouldn't tell him, he would probably rather go back to Voldemort for another session before he did that. And Harry was definitely _not_ going to tell him either. So he would just have to wait for Sirius to come to him and tell him that he knew, he decided as he took his seat at the Gryffindor table.

He was alone as he ate his breakfast, so he contemplated a few things, like how he was going to defeat Voldemort. Thinking about it, Harry couldn't see himself actually defeating the evil wizard, how did anyone? Maybe he could take the evil overlord out at the same time that he kicked the can? Some weird cause and effect thing maybe? _Nah,_ he thought. Number one, that didn't sound plausible. Number two, he wanted to live, even if it seemed unlikely he would ever see 20.

Finally he was joined by his friends, who one-by-one trickled into the Great Hall for breakfast. Small talk did nothing to keep Harry's mind off of what was going to be happening a few floors above his head in a few moments. Deciding that enough was enough, Harry got up, "I'm going to head on up. I'll meet you guys there."

"We're coming with you," Hermione said, moving to stand.

"No, it's fine. There's still time before we're supposed to be there. You guys finish eating and then come up."

Harry didn't know how Ginny realized that he wanted to be alone for a few moments before everyone started giving him plenty of attention, but she must have read his mind and said, "All right, we'll see you in a few." Nodding, Harry made his way out the door and toward the Room of Requirement.

Walking into the room, Harry smiled. It was just like the Gryffindor Common Room. Knowing that Dumbledore would surely be along shortly, Harry kept the door ajar and took a seat by the fire in his usual armchair.

Not knowing what was going to be happening that day was exciting and nerve-wracking. What would his "teachers" be teaching him? And what would Snape be doing in his session? He and Snape were very new at this "truce" thing, and Harry still felt awkward around the man. He sure was glad that others would be in the room with him to soak up some of the attention.

He didn't have to wait long before Dumbledore walked in, with Snape in tow. Dumbledore smiled at the scene, while Snape just rolled his eyes.

"Harry, my boy. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thanks. And you?"

"Very well, thank you for asking. Now, where are your friends?" he asked, choosing to sit down in Ron's armchair while they waited.

"They are finishing breakfast. They should be here any moment."

Harry quickly noticed a change in venue. The comforting warmth of the Gryffindor Common Room turned to the stone cold feel of the Slytherin Common Room. Harry quickly realized what was going on and glared at his Potions Professor, who simply smirked. Harry thought of the Gryffindor Common Room and the scene changed back. Snape glared back at Harry, but he could have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on the man's face as the room changed back. They fought over the common room for a few more moments before Dumbledore stepped in. Suddenly, the mixture of Red and Green was changed to a mutual blue. The two dark haired wizards finally tore their eyes away from each other and looked to Dumbledore, who was smiling.

"As pleasant as it is seeing you fight so nicely, we have guests now."

Sure enough, his friends walked in, leading Remus and Sirius in as well. Harry felt the tension mount in the room as Snape and Sirius made eye contact. If he could have gotten away with it without being heard, he would have sighed. These men and their feuds. It was just starting to get frustrating. Thankfully Dumbledore intervened.

"Good morning, everyone. We only have a short time before Voldemort shows up on our front door to try to take two of our own from us. However, we are going to show him that is not going to happen now or ever. We will show him that he is not welcome at Hogwarts anymore and hopefully show enough force that he will leave without any casualties. That being said, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny will firstly be working on trying to throw off the Imperious curse. Harry, I know you already know how, so Professor Snape will be working with you on your dueling while Sirius, Remus, and myself work with your friends."

Harry nodded, though now extremely nervous along with feeling frustrated that his friends were going to be participating. However, he knew that learning how to throw off the curse was important anyway, so he kept his mouth shut. Now, to focus on Snape. Turning to Snape, he saw him smirk in anticipation. All those years that Snape probably wanted to curse him into oblivion were now being realized. How could Harry duel the man that he just started to like? The same way he would duel Ron and Hermione, he guessed, as Snape took a few steps back away from Harry.

Barely noticing that the room had changed to accommodate what they were now going to do, Harry's brain kicked into gear, thinking of every spell he could use to disarm Snape.

"You are going to do everything in your power to try to disarm me, Mr. Potter. And I will be doing the same to you. I will be judging you on your skills and figuring out where to put our energy during these next two weeks. Understand?"

Harry nodded, his grip on his wand tightening slightly in preparation for the duel to start. Snape took a step to the left and Harry's reflexes and instincts took over. _Let's see what Snape can do._

"Stupefy!"

Snape batted away the spell like a fly. "Is that all you've got?"

Harry bit his lip in concentration. _Good reflexes._ Harry shot another spell, which bounced harmlessly off Snape who fired off a leg locker curse. Putting up his shield, the battle continued – slowly at first, but building with intensity. Both opponents shooting spells at the other with speed and accuracy. A few of Harry's spells hit Snape, which were countered by Snape and he hit Harry a few more times than he was getting. He was thankful that none of them were fatal, as Snape hit Harry with a full body bind and then the disarming spell. Harry was extremely frustrated that he had allowed Snape to hit him. But he was at the mercy of his opponent, who slowly walked over and looked down at him with a small smile that Harry _did not_ like.

"Not bad, Potter."

Snape said the counter curse and extended his arm. Harry smiled and took the offered hand. "Rematch."

Snape's smug smile made Harry even more determined to win the next round. "You're on."

Harry didn't waste any time before throwing his first spell. Focused, Harry studied Snape as much as he was sure Snape was studying him. Harry found Snape to be a very competent dueler. Voldemort had won a great fighter all those years ago, and Harry was glad that Snape was now on their side. Proud to say that Snape had yet to hit him with a spell, Harry shot off a stunner and a tickle charm in rapid succession. Snape's laugh rebounded off of the walls of the room and Harry's surprised made him freeze. He had never heard Snape laugh before, and he wasn't sure how to describe it either. But Harry couldn't help himself and he smiled. But before Harry realized that he missed a perfect opportunity, Snape quickly countered the charm and sent a barrage of spells at Harry in retaliation. Harry shot up his shield and was surprised to see it hold up under Snape's attack. Though he was holding his own, Harry was loosing energy. Knowing that he had to end the duel soon, or Snape would surely disarm him, Harry shot off a stunner, another tickling charm, and a disarming spell. The first two spells Snape batted away, but he didn't expect the third, which nailed him and found his wand soaring through the air to be caught in Harry's thrilled hand.

Snape sure looked surprised, but Harry was soon startled out of his excitement by clapping. Finding the source of the sudden noise, Harry saw Dumbledore and his friends clapping and shouting for joy in his success. _You'd think I just won a Quidditch match,_ he thought.

Ron had the largest smile that he had ever seen and he was jumping up and down for joy. However, when Snape caught sight of this display, he sent a glare that could rival Voldemort's at him. Which made Ron immediately cease his outward display of elation. Harry laughed. His friend could be so stupid sometimes. Snape already wanted to kill him, and Ron was just giving him more ammunition.

"Wonderful duel, both of you. Harry, you did a fantastic job."

Harry beamed at the praise. It's not every day that you get to best the Potions Master at dueling. Something he was sure Voldemort made sure all of his Death Eaters did very well at. Why would Voldemort want a lacky who couldn't duel with the best of the best? Snape was an excellent dueler, and having beaten him, Harry felt his confidence grow.

"Do you have winner, Albus?"

Snape question made Harry's large grin immediately fall from his face like a weight bring dropped from a tower. Not to mention his newfound confidence quickly escaped from it's largely formed balloon when popped by his question. Harry turned to Dumbledore with what he was sure was a slight hint of fear in his movements. Dumbledore would never hurt him, Harry knew that. But the idea of dueling the same man that Voldemort feared, made Harry want to give Snape another shot at kicking his butt. And let him win _spectacularly_.

Dumbledore chucked. "Don't look so nervous, Harry. We have other plans right now. Tonks, how nice of you to join us!" Harry turned to see Tonks walking into the room with a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry, I forgot that it started at ten. What did I miss?"

Harry smiled at the recent memory. "Harry kicked Snape's – I-I mean, Harry won a duel against Professor Snape," Ron exclaimed, but quickly recovered when he caught sight of Snape.

"Aw, man! And I missed it!" Tonks looked quite upset about the whole thing.

Remus smiled and walked over to her. "Don't worry, I'll show you later."

Harry had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing out from the look that Snape had on his face. He looked like he just bit down on a lemon with it's skin peeled off.

Before anyone else could wound him further, Dumbledore came to Snape's rescue. "Tonks, would you please work with Sirius and Remus while Severus, Harry, and I talk?"

"Of course, Albus. I'd be happy to," she said with a smile, whipping out her wand and moving away with the others to continue practicing. Harry was sure there hadn't been much practicing while he and Snape dueled. Now they would be able to practice without the added distraction of Harry's own practicing.

Suddenly, Harry wasn't looking at his friends, but a solid brick wall. He turned to Dumbledore who smiled. "I think we need some privacy for this conversation."

Harry quickly became serious. He was quite curious to find out what was so important that his friends couldn't listen in. Or maybe it was so that they would be able to practice without being distracted.

Or maybe both.

"Why don't we sit down?" Dumbledore suggested, and three chairs appeared. Lovely, plush, blue armchairs set up in a triangle so that they could all each see each other easily. Harry sat down and gave an internal sigh of contentment before Dumbledore continued. "I was going to be talking to you about this after the school year started, Harry. But I feel with the current events and what has happened since summer started, that it would be a good idea to share with you some information that we have."

Harry nodded, willing, and excited, to be kept in the loop finally. Dumbledore turned and looked to Snape, and Harry instinctively followed his gaze. Snape didn't look particularly happy about something, but when did he ever?

Snape turned to lock eyes with Harry, who felt as if he was deciding on whether or not to continue where Dumbledore left off. Apparently, he decided in favor of it.

"I was very good at potions in school," he started. Harry quickly became confused. Why was he telling him this? And wasn't that already assumed? "The Dark Lord knew this and used my talents." Oh. Okay, that wasn't already assumed. "I made all sorts of potions, good and bad. But one day he approached me and asked me to gather certain ingredients. I had no idea what the ingredients were for, as most of them were quite rare in nature and I had never seen them used in a potion together. Not that it meant much at the time. When I finally had retrieved all of the ingredients, the Dark Lord worked with me, giving me instructions of how to make the potion."

"Was that unusual?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yes," Snape said, as if it was the stupidest question in the world. "Usually he told me the potion he wanted me to do. If it was an unfamiliar potion, or one I was not well versed in, he would tell me what book it was in, and I would go retrieve it. It wasn't usual for the Dark Lord to do so much work."

"Oh," Harry said stupidly. "Makes sense, I guess."

"Yes. He told me that the potion was a part of a ritual that he was going to undergo. He did not specify, but told me that I needed to be present during the ritual to do the potion. I was given handwritten instructions on what to add and when. I will not pretend that some of the steps were…unpleasant, but he wanted to do it and I was but the mixer.I prepared myself for two days, learning the steps and making sure I knew exactly what I was doing and not make any mistakes. A mistake during the process would have been fatal to us both."

Harry swallowed against the lump in his throat. To imagine Snape possibly that close to death, after everything that had happened recently, made Harry's stomach contract. Before this summer, he would have most definitely had been disappointed that Snape didn't just end both of their lives. However, Snape was a valuable member of the Order now, no matter how loyal to Voldemort he had once been. He was genuinely concerned for the man, for something that had happened before he was even born.

"The ritual went off without a hitch. He was weak for about a week after, but he was well taken care of by Bellatrix." Harry felt his eyes narrow at the name. He hated the woman and wanted her dead more than almost anything else in the world. And from the tone of Snape's voice, he definitely agreed. "After he regained his strength, he became bolder, more willing to do dangerous missions in order to crush his enemies. It wasn't hard to put together what the ritual was. However, I had never seen the book, let alone the spell. And it took us sixteen years to track it down."

It took him a few moments to realize what Snape had just said, and to realize what the ritual was. "Wait, you have the book?"

"I do."

A smile split Harry's face and the tenseness in his chest during Snape's story disappeared, leaving behind a feeling of relief and happiness. "Fantastic. Does it have the counter to the ritual?"

Snape shared a look with Dumbledore before replying. "We don't know."

The joy was suddenly sucked from Harry's body and confusion set in. "What do you mean? How do you not know?"

Dumbledore decided to answer the question. "Because we can't read the book and have no way of translating it." Harry felt his shoulders slump. Great, now what hope was there that he would be able to defeat Voldemort? "But we were wondering if you could."

"Me?" Harry asked, confused. "How could I translate a book when you can't? I don't even know another language!"

"Oh, but you do," Dumbledore told him with a smile on his face.

"What other…language?"

Dumbledore reached into his robes and brought out a large black volume, to which he turned the front of the book toward him. It was embossed with a large letter S that took up nearly the entire face. The tome looked to be about the length from Harry's fingertips to the crook of his arm and a foot wide. How Dumbledore hid that in his pocket was beyond him, but that was no longer on his mind. Harry quickly realized what other language he spoke.

"It's in Parseltongue?" he asked, half amazed and half stunned.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "It is. I was hoping you could translate it for us."

"But I don't know how to read Parseltongue. I didn't even know there was a written version of it!"

"Try."

Harry sighed. He opened the book and opened up to a random page in the middle of the book. He looked at the page and saw what he could only describe as scribbles. Squinting at the page, trying to decipher anything in loops and swirls of the "writing" he shook his head, "I don't understand a word of this mess."

He didn't hear a response from either men, so he looked up to see them staring at him. Snape had a slightly surprised expression, while Dumbledore was beaming. "What?"

"You understand it?"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Didn't they hear him say that he couldn't understand it? "No, I don't understand a word of it. I already told you."

The two men visibly deflated. "You don't understand it?"

"No. I told you I didn't."

"We couldn't understand you, Harry."

"But I spoke in plain English, how did you not understand?"

"Because you were speaking Parseltongue, Harry."

Harry was shocked as he processed Dumbledore's words and the truth in his, and Snape's, eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. Why don't you try again?" the Headmaster asked, with a hopeful look on his face.

Harry turned back to the volume, praying that he could find something to understand about the page he was looking at. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the first line of "words". "The potion of…Purity?" Harry read slowly, hearing his words and translating them in Parseltongue. "Whoa. How did I read that?" When he heard no response from his two companions, Harry realized that he was still speaking in Parseltongue, because instead of hearing his own voice, he heard a multitudes of hisses leave his mouth. His head shot up and he looked at Dumbledore. "I heard. I was speaking Parseltongue!"

"You were," Dumbledore agreed. "Did you understand anything this time?"

Harry nodded his head. "I did! But I can't _read_ it, if that makes sense. I have to speak it." And the blank look Snape gave him, and the puzzled expression of Dumbledore, he explained further. "I have to speak the words on the page. They don't make sense to me otherwise. I don't understand why, but I can understand it when I speak. The potion on this page looks to be a potion of purity. I have no idea what it does yet, but I know the name of it."

Dumbledore's eyes shined like a newborn star, glittering brightly in the sky. "Wonderful! That's great, Harry! Fantastic job, my boy. I am proud of you. Now, what we need you to look for, in your spare time, is an immortality or a death resistant ritual. Severus has included the ingredients that he remembered along with some of the instructions in the front of the book. You will try to find that ritual and the counter, if it is inside." He motioned for the book and shrank it to fit inside his palm, then returned it to Harry, whose heart was in his stomach.

"Wait, so you don't know if there is a cure for what he did?"

Shaking his head sadly, Dumbledore confirmed Harry's fear. "No. However, if we find the ritual, we may be able to find something to counteract it, or make it null and void for a few moments."

"But how will that help? How will I be able to kill him?"

"We will be teaching you how to defend yourself against attacks for the time being. Learning how to eliminate Voldemort will be for another time. Remember, Harry," Dumbledore said, giving him a piercing stare that pinned the young man to his seat. "We are only looking to intimidate Voldemort with a strong show of force. We are not looking to engage him or his Death Eaters into battle."

"But what if he isn't pushed back by a mere show of force? What if he attacks?"

"Then you will run for the safety of the castle."

"What? No!" Harry exclaimed, standing to his feet. "I won't leave my friends out there to fight a battle that is about me anyway."

"Harry," Dumbledore warned, standing up himself. Stressing every word, he continued. "You are not ready. To ask you to battle Voldemort now would be asking you to sign your own death certificate. You. Are. Not. Ready."

Harry sighed. He had to be able to do something! Then the answer came to him. The book. He could find the ritual and try to find the counter-potion for it. Harry knew he would not be sleeping much in the coming weeks, until he found what he was looking for. Wanting to pacify the older wizard, Harry sat back down in his seat and said, "All right."

"I think it's time to rejoin the others," Snape suggested. Harry smiled in appreciation. They all stood, and Harry pocketed the, now much smaller, book. When Dumbledore turned around to walk back toward his now visible friends, Harry could have sworn he saw a slight nod from Snape in reply.

Harry smiled as his friends turned to see him walking with the two men toward them. When he reached them, he and Ginny embraced. "I never knew how _hard_ it was to resist the Imperious Curse! How do you do it?"

Harry shrugged as they parted. "I dunno. I just…do. I think about how I don't want to do whatever it is that is being told to me to do. And I just keep saying 'No!' until the spell is broken."

Ginny nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'll have to try that."

"Another time. Right now, you are going to take a break from the Imperious and learn something new." Harry watched as his friends faces expressed the relief at being done with the curse for now. Harry was excited to be learning something new, and from Dumbledore to boot. "The spell I am going to teach you is an advanced version of the Shield charm, after this I will let these," he motioned to Sirius, Remus, and Snape. "And the other members of the Order assist you."

The teens nodded. Harry couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore would be doing, if not helping them prepare to fight Voldemort. But he was sure he would find out later. "The spell is 'protego gravis'. It will help you to defend yourself from more malicious spells that the simple charm cannot." Dumbledore then described the theory of the spell and made them practice the wand movement before even saying the spell. Soon, the young witches and wizards were practicing their shields on each other. They helped protect them from minor spells, but they weren't yet strong enough to withstand a more violent attack.

"Good job, everyone! You did fabulously for your first time. Don't get discouraged, and remember that this is very advanced magic and will take some time to master. Why don't you all take a break for lunch and then come back and continue to practice? I will not be with you for the second half of today, as I have some work to do in the meantime." The team all happily took the Headmaster's advice and made their way down to the Great Hall.

Harry allowed his friends to leave first, and hang back with Sirius and Remus. "How did they do?"

Remus smiled. "They did all right. Not spectacular, but they are working on it. None of them are able to throw it off yet, but they are fighting it."

Harry sighed in relief. "Good. What is going to happen after lunch?"

Sirius smiled. "My turn! You and I are going to work on defending yourself against attacks. There are more than just shield charms to do the trick." Sirius started describing different tactics that he could use but Harry wasn't listening to him. Instead, his thoughts were ahead of him; two weeks ahead to be exact. What would happen when Voldemort showed himself that day? Would he attack? Or would he flee in the shadow of his foes standing ready to fight him? If he attacked, would Harry get a chance to fight against him? Or would Dumbledore force him back into the castle to keep him safe? If he fought against him, would he survive? And his most important question of all: How would he defeat the most evil wizard of the age?

Finally getting to the Great Hall, Harry made himself pay attention to his surroundings, Sirius was still going on about something or another, and Remus seemed to notice Harry's preoccupied mind. He locked eyes with his 'godfather' who gave him a questioning look. His question was clear: "Are you okay?" Harry smiled and nodded, letting him know that he was indeed all right. Remus nodded while he and Sirius took seats beside him at the Gryffindor table.

"Man, it's been a long time since I've sat here. Remember our first day at Hogwarts, Moony?"

Remus laughed. "Yeah, we were such squirts then. So young. So naïve."

"So incredibly awesome!" Sirius said, inputting his two cents.

Remus shook his head with a smile while the others laughed. "Come on, Sirius, you know how much trouble we all got in because you guys didn't think things through!"

"Oh, so we're back to that again, hm? Well, I'll have you know, our best prank was _my_ thinking and planning and executing so," Sirius stuck out his tongue in a very childish manner.

Harry doubled over in laughter. "What happened?"

"Well, one day in fourth year, I decided that we were going to pull the prank of all pranks and dress up some of the Slytherins in Gryffindor robes and dye their hair pink! But, not only were the robes that they were wearing going to be charmed, but every robe they put on for a _week_ would be Gryffindor!" Harry smiled, it sounded so like Sirius. His friends were quite the captive audience as well. "So, James, Remus, Peter, and I all get our plans set. I was to do the hair dying, James was going to do their robes, Peter was to get the lucky contestants in place, and Remus was going to take the pictures for evidence so that we could post them around the school. Well, it just so happened that we had the mother of all opportunities. Malfoy was talking with Nott and Goyle about something, so we sent Peter out, ready to do his job. He was making quite a fuss, and we quickly got to work. In a matter of seconds, we had them all dressed up and lit up like Christmas trees! And to make things even _better_ Snape came along at exactly the right moment to completely freak out! Of course it alerted the other Slytherins of what was going on, and Peter barely made it out of there alive! We had posters hanging with superglue for weeks! And the best part was, they couldn't magically take them off! We put a protective charm on them to keep them from being damaged and along with the superglue that James brought from home, we had a good laugh for several weeks. And what's better, we won the Quidditch Cup the next week! We never let them forget it!"

By the end of Sirius' story, the teens were all laughing hysterically at the image of Malfoy being stuck in Gryffindor's clothes! And pink hair? That was just too good to imagine!

"I think I still have a picture of that somewhere," Remus said, looking thoughtful. "I'll have to take a look through my old boxes and see."

"Oh man, that would be fantastic! I'd love to see Malfoy's face!" Ron said with a gleeful glint in his eyes.

The others agreed, and since Snape wasn't the person getting pranked, Harry was happy to agree. Looking around and listening to the laughter around him, he couldn't help but take a moment to be extremely thankful for his friends and family. _Old and new,_ he thought, stealing a look at the teachers table where Snape was talking with Dumbledore. A lot had changed in such a short amount of time. And Harry was glad for it.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Hey guys, I'm so sorry that it's taken so long to get this chapter out. I have a new job, I'm a teacher now! Official and everything! So I haven't had a lot of time to write. Plus, I've been having trouble with some ideas for the story, so it's been a little interesting to try to write. But now I know where I'm going from here on out and I'm excited to get deeper into the story. I hope you all like the chapter!


	17. The Plan

After the afternoon session of training, Harry and his friends made their way outside to relax, having been indoors all day. They raced each other down to the tree near the lake and all collapsed, laughing. Laying down in the grass, feeling the breeze rustle their hair, the teens were able to take the rest of the afternoon off and just be kids.

"What did Dumbledore and Snape talk to you about, Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked at the sky and watched the clouds pass over, thinking about how he couldn't even escape his destiny to never have a normal childhood for just one moment. He sighed. "They gave me a book to translate, hoping it will have something in it that will help us defeat Voldemort for good."

He heard his friends sit up from their prone position on the ground and say, "What?"

Harry sighed again and sat up, turning to see his friends all looking at him expectantly for information. "Voldemort did a ritual on himself to make himself, if not completely immortal, at least resistant to death. The spell came from this book," he said, pulling out the shrunk tome that Dumbledore had given him. With a quick spell he enlarged it to it's full size and weight. He smiled when he saw his friends eyes widened at the sheer size of the volume he was showing them.

"But how does Dumbledore expect you to be able to translate a book when you don't know another language?" Ron asked.

Harry laughed. "I asked him the same thing, before he told me that I _do_ speak another language."

Hermione was the first person to put the pieces together. No surprise there. "It's in Parseltongue?" she gasped.

Harry nodded and opened the book, knowing that she would be dying to see what Parseltongue looked like in it's written form. She wasn't satisfied with just looking at the text, she took the book from him and studied the loops and lines of the spells that only Harry and Voldemort could translate. This made him feel slightly special, even though he happened to share this skill with the man he was supposed to kill. He explained what Dumbledore and Snape had told him about Voldemort recruiting Snape to make the potion for the ritual that would allow Voldemort to not be killed easily.

"So Dumbledore wants me to translate it and find the ritual and the counter if it is in there," he said, motioning to the book that was still in Hermione's hands.

"You can read this?" she asked, looking up from the book. Harry smiled and tried to explain to his friends the process that he had to go through to try to "read" the script. He laughed at the looks that his friends were giving him. He waited as they replayed everything he said and tried to figure out what he was saying and make some sense out of it. Surprisingly enough, Ron was the first to understand what he was trying to say. With everything explained and his friends understanding the situation, Harry suggested that they go flying. He was tired of thinking about what was ahead of them in the next two weeks and wanted to forget about it. With his friends in agreement, he summoned his broom while Ron and Ginny did the same, and they made their way in companionable silence.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

For the third night in a row, Harry was sitting in the library after midnight "reading" the book Dumbledore gave him. It had been slow going having to speak the words, hear them, and then translate them back into English. But it was going at least. Knowing that they weren't able to help him, he had spent afternoons after training with his friends being a kid and enjoying the time he had left, knowing there was a good chance that he wouldn't survive the battle ahead of them.

So far that night, Harry had to step away from the book three times. Some of the spells and rituals in this book were simply horrifying. However, he had no choice but to read through _everything_ to make sure he wasn't missing anything. Going back and forth between Snape's list and possible matches, Harry was getting incredibly tired. This wasn't the most entertaining thing to do at one o'clock in the morning. However, Harry had very little choice. He _had_ to find the ritual before Voldemort came in a week and a half. The time was going by so fast, that Harry didn't know what to do. He wasn't even halfway through the book yet!

Harry sighed. "Just keep going, Potter. Just keep going," he heard himself say in Parseltongue. Harry shook his head, smiling. He wouldn't be surprised if he was able to speak Parseltongue without a snake present anymore.

Turning the page, Harry continued with his process of reading, hearing, and translating, reading, hearing, and translating. After "reading" the entire page and not hearing any of the key words he has been looking for, Harry turned his attention to the next page, robotically. Suddenly he shot up from his slouching position and forgot all about the fact that it was so late and yelled, "Oh my gosh!" Of course, his words were in Parseltongue, but he was still really loud. Flinching, he hoped that no one was out of bed. He quickly re-read the spell that he had just found and a smile split his face. "Perfect! I've got to go to Dumbledore!"

Harry grabbed the book, dog-eared it – wincing at what Hermione would say if she saw him do it – and quickly ran out of the library. He didn't make it very far before almost running head first into Professor Snape.

"Professor!" Harry said, stunned. He wasn't expecting anyone to be awake so late, but by the look in his professor's eyes, he wasn't surprised to see _him_ out of bed so late.

"Mr. Potter. I would ask what you are doing out of bed at such an hour, but I have a feeling I know exactly why," he said, his eyes moving to find the book in his hand. His eyes flickered back to Harry's face and Harry smiled.

An idea was forming in the young wizard's mind. He was suddenly incredibly glad that he was stopped by Snape and hadn't gone up to Dumbledore. "Professor, is there somewhere we can go that we can talk? I've found something and I need to talk to you about it."

Snape looked suspicious, but motioned to a room down the hall. They entered and as soon as the door was closed he said, "I've found a way to defeat him."

That was definitely wasn't what Snape was expecting to hear from him. His eyes widened slightly, which was a sight to see in itself from the normally stoic man. "How?"

Harry turned around and found a desk near to him, and sat the book down, opened to the page he had dog-eared and turned back to his professor. "Sir, I know Professor Dumbledore wants to protect me, and that's nice and all, but I think that this is one of the best opportunities we are ever going to have to catch him off guard. Not to mention the fact that the longer that this goes on, the stronger he will become and the harder it will be for me to do anything about it. He doesn't want me to fight, and if I told him what I just found, he would never let me see the front line! But I need help, I don't know how I'm going to pull this off."

"What exactly is it that you've found, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked.

"I can take his magic away from him."

Snape's mouth dropped in his shock. "You can?"

Harry motioned to two chairs and they both sat down. "I almost overlooked it because it wasn't what I was looking for. But I realized what I had found and had to go back. It's a spell that allows me to destroy his magic. Completely and totally, if I understood it correctly."

"What exactly did it say?" Snape asked, leaning forward.

Harry could tell that Snape was getting his brain into gear. He was a very intelligent man, something that Voldemort knew, used, and probably added to. His knowledge of spells and potions could probably rival most teachers at the school. Harry read through a few parts and then translated them into English for Snape, who summoned a parchment and quill to take down the instructions It took several minutes to tell the man, word by word what the instructions were.

When he had read through the entire page, Snape sat, transfixed, looking at the page. "I can't believe this. This is…" he seemed at al loss for words. "We have to inform the Headmaster, so that you can learn the spell, immediately." Snape started to stand and them seemed to suddenly remember why they couldn't go to Dumbledore with this information and sat back down slowly. "Ah, but we cannot."

"No. That's just it. If we tell him he won't do a single thing about it and won't let me near him." Harry paused, wondering if he was insane at what he was about to ask his once most hated professor for. "Sir, I have to ask a favor. And I understand if you refuse. But hear me out first, please?" He waited a moment to see Snape agree with a nod. He took a deep breath before diving in. "Would you be willing to help me learn this spell…and keep it from Professor Dumbledore? I could ask Hermione, but she might accidentally let it slip that we're doing something and if she does that, Dumbledore will lock me in the Room of Requirement or send me back to Grimmuald Place until after Voldemort comes. You are probably the best occlumens in the world and can keep both Voldemort _and_ Dumbledore out of your head if you really wanted to, so you can keep him from becoming suspicious."

Harry watched Snape carefully as he weighed his argument and he could honestly say it could swing either way. He had no idea what the man was thinking and didn't know if he would keep something like this from Dumbledore. After several minutes of silence, and several yawns from Harry, Snape spoke up.

"I am willing."

Harry sighed in relief, a ton of weight that he didn't know had been placed their in only the few short minutes of finding the spell, had been lifted. "Thank you, sir!"

Snape nodded, a calculating look deep in his eyes. "We will have to be careful. There is not much that goes on in this castle that the Headmaster does not know about. If he discovers us, we are both dead. Not to mention if anything were to happen to you during the fight-"

"Yeah, I know. Dumbledore would kill you himself."

Snape inclined his head. "He would do so without a second thought. You do know we are both going to be in severe amounts of trouble when this all comes out, correct, Mr. Potter?"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. But if it works, then it doesn't matter. Voldemort will be gone and he won't be able to be too angry with us…right?"

Snape gave him a look that said, "What do you think?"

"Yeah, I thought not. But we're doing what's right. Even though we _are_ going behind his back…"

"I have one condition to this, Mr. Potter," Snape said, standing up. When Harry stood and gave him a questioning look he continued. "If we are to do this, you must get some sleep. No more staying up until all hours. It has shown in your sessions that you are not up to your normal standard. I know you feel that you have to find the ritual," he said, stopping Harry before he could interrupt. "But you will be no good to anyone if you are sleep deprived. You are to go back to your dorm right now and go to bed."

Harry sighed and nodded. "All right. But what about this spell?"

Snape folded the paper and put it into his robes as he responded. "We will begin tomorrow night at nine. We will practice for one hour every night until the day before, or unless something comes up and we are forced to change our plans."

"One hour? That's it?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. That is it. As I have said, you will receive a decent amount of sleep every night. If I find that you are not doing so, we will scrap this whole plan. So, only in your spare time, which is what the Headmaster had in mind when he gave you the task, will you open that book for any length of period of time. Do you understand?"

The piercing stare that Harry was receiving made him want to swallow the lump that had just formed in his throat. But an hour would not be enough time! How could he sleep when he could be trying to find the potion to make Voldemort mortal again? Just in case their idea didn't work, he had to find and translate the ritual. If he died in the battle in two weeks and didn't find it, they would never be able to get rid of Voldemort. So it was only under extreme duress, and the knowledge that they were only training for the first half of the day, that Harry reluctantly agreed.

With their first session in the books that evening, the men parted ways, Harry back to his dorm, and Snape to…wherever it was he was going. Walking back toward his bed, Harry reflected on something Snape had said. "It has shown in your sessions that you are not up to your normal standard." Harry winced. Was it that obvious? Yes, he was extremely tired, but he thought he had hid it so well. Apparently not. They continued to work on defense, no matter how much Harry wanted to do more. He had dueled Snape the first day, then Sirius and then Remus other days. He had not disarmed either of them on the first try, but was able to the second try, he thought with a smile. His friends had finally found the will to resist the Imperious Curse and were now working with Harry and the rest of the Order members.

When Harry pulled back his sheets and climbed into bed the earliest he had since he found out about the ritual, he was slightly glad that he had put his foot down and told him that he had to go to bed earlier than 2am. With the weight of what he was expected to do off of his shoulders and not weighing on his mind quite so severely tonight, Harry did not resist the pull of sleep.

Harry awoke the next morning feeling more well rested than he had in days, even though he had gotten less sleep than the previous few nights. He was energized by his conversation with Snape and the deal they had made. But nothing could prepare him for what was about to occur. Walking with his friends into the Great Hall, what he saw made Harry stop dead, making Ron run straight into his back.

"What?" Ron asked, looking around his friend to become wide eyed as well. "What are you all doing here?"

Harry was enraged. _How dare Dumbledore bring them into this_! he thought, and he walked into the room looking at the majority of Dumbledore's Army. His stomach was in knots. Now he had to worry about his other friends in this fight as well.

"Hey, Harry!" Neville called from his seat at the Gryffindor table. Harry couldn't even summon the energy to cover up his anger with a smile for his friends. He let his eyes slide from the table filled with his friends from all houses to the Head Table. Snape was watching him, as was Remus and there was a man who Harry didn't know sitting next to his second godfather that was watching him intently as well. His eyes quickly found the man who he would not speak for a month if he had anything to say about it.

Dumbledore was staring directly into Harry's eyes with a look that Harry certainly did not like. So this is what he had been working on that he couldn't be in their sessions? The look in his eyes spoke volumes, even when the man himself was silent. He knew Harry wouldn't like it, did it anyway, and felt it was the right thing to do. Harry didn't know if he should leave or go up and scream at the man until his head blew off. He decided on something else entirely, something that fell right into his and Snape's plan.

Walking with determination, he never took his eyes off of the Headmaster as he approached the table. He looked at him for a moment and opened his mouth, making sure to inject all of his feelings of anger, frustration, betrayal, and determination into his whispered words that he was sure everyone in the room could hear. "I can't believe you. Don't expect for me to talk to you ever again." And with that, he turned around and walked out of the Great Hall, his appetite completely disappeared. Feeling the Entrance Hall starting to close in around him as soon as the doors closed behind him, Harry ran toward the exit and out into the grounds.

Harry didn't stop running, the adrenalin from his frustration and anger burning off as he ran. How could Dumbledore put, not only Hermione and the Weasleys at risk, but the DA as well? He was not willing to put all of his friends in danger at once, it was just foolish! Why would Voldemort run from children? _Answer is, _he thought as he slowed down, _he won't._ Harry caught sight of Hagrid outside his hut and started walking toward the man. Harry realized that he had tears of frustration, and fear for his friends, running down his face. He angrily wiped them away, refusing to allow Dumbledore the satisfaction.

"Harry!" Hagrid called.

Having not seen the half-giant since the end of term, Harry found a genuine smile forming on his frustrated face. "Hello, Hagrid."

The man quickly closed the gap and pulled Harry into a bone crushing hug. "How 'ave you been, 'arry? I was gona come look for ya later on."

"I've been all right, thanks. How about you?" he asked, trying to get the attention off of himself. "What have you been doing all summer?"

"Oh, this an' that. Mostly doing me job as Gamekeeper. Keepin' the grounds kept an' all. What about you? I'm sure yeh 'ave been busy since Sirius got back."

Harry smiled at the memory. "Oh yeah. It's been great having him back!"

"I knew you'd be happy, 'arry! Why don't cha come on in and have a spot o' tea?" the big man offered.

Happy to be somewhere that would make it difficult for anyone to find him soon, Harry agreed. However, Harry thought as he sat down at Hagrid's table, it probably wouldn't be long before someone found him, anyway. But he wouldn't let that ruin the time that he had with the first wizard friend that he had made, way back on his eleventh birthday. Harry couldn't help but smile when he thought back on the events that transpired to their meeting. That storm was one of the most terrifying storm that he had ever been in before, and since. It might have also been that he thought the shack they were in was going to cave in on them all. But Hagrid came and rescued him from his relatives with the truth of what happened to his parents and with the truth of who and what he was.

He was incredibly grateful for, and fond of, Hagrid, and was suddenly worried. Would he be fighting in a little over a week? He decided to ask.

"Hagrid? Will you be with us when Voldemort comes?"

Flinching slightly at the mention of the name, Hagrid poured their tea and then sat down before answering. "I can't tell yeh that, 'arry. I'm sorry."

"Why not? What are you going to be doing?" Harry asked, suddenly enraged once more. Dumbledore.

"'Cause I'm under orders, 'arry. I can't tell yeh what I'm doing when he comes, so stop askin'."

Harry was going to press Hagrid on it, because he knew that the man wouldn't be able to help himself, and would spill something. But before he could do so, there was a knock on the door, and Harry's heart fell. He had hoped for more time, but it seemed he had been discovered all the same.

Anticipating Hagrid opening the door, he prayed that it wasn't Dumbledore behind that door. To Harry's great relief, it wasn't. It was Snape. He was surprised at how happy he was that it was Snape. He understood Harry's predicament, and understood that Harry needed to fight now, and he prayed that everything fell into place to allow Voldemort to be destroyed now, before anyone else died.

"Mr. Potter, you need to come with me."

Harry nodded and stood from his seat. "Yes, sir."

Hagrid gave him a hug, and looked sad while looking quite relieved. "Come down anytime, 'arry. Yer always welcome."

"Thanks, Hagrid," he said, walking out with the potions master.

With Hagrid inside, and not able to hear any longer, Snape seemed more willing to talk. "Mr. Potter, I understand that you are upset-"

"I don't think you do, sir."

"I understand that you are upset," he said again, with an edge to his voice. "But your friends are here to help you. They are not here to fight, but they are here to try to protect you."

"But they shouldn't even be here!" Harry exclaimed, frustration lacing his words. "They aren't prepared to face the battle that we _both_ know is coming! Voldemort won't be turned away by _children_, we know that! And hell, Dumbledore probably knows it. So why are they here?"

Somewhere along the way, the two had stopped in the middle of the grounds. Snape didn't answer immediately, which made Harry think he must have been deciding on how to answer. "Dumbledore asked them to come."

"But they aren't even of age!" Harry could feel the desire to stomp his foot like a child, but refrained.

"The Headmaster went to each student's family and explained the situation and asked the parents if they would agree to allowing them to come and just show up and just be involved as a show, and told them that their children would be given portkeys to keep them safe in case anything were to go wrong. The ones who are here, agreed. So you needn't worry, Mr. Potter. Your friends will be safe."

Harry sighed. He still wasn't happy about it, but knowing that they would be protected made him feel a bit better. An idea suddenly came to mind. "Sir? Is there a way for us to talk during the battle? I'd rather not have to yell across the grounds if I need you."

Snape looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Yes, there is. We can connect our minds and communicate that way."

"Really?" Harry asked, not really sure if he liked the idea of allowing Snape access to his head like that, but knew it would be incredibly useful if the need arose. "How?"

_"Like this."_

Harry almost jumped, he heard the words, but Snape's mouth didn't move. _"Cool."_

_"Indeed, Mr. Potter,"_ Snape said, continuing their trek back to the castle.

_"Sir?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"You can call me Harry, if you want."_

Not giving himself the opportunity to completely think the offer through, he asked it, hoping to give another olive branch to their growing tree of trust. He didn't hear Snape respond, and knew the man was no longer in his head. Wondering if it was his way of telling him that he wasn't going to, or if he was just wanting to protect his thoughts from Harry being able to read the un-edited version through the shock that he had "heard" whisper through his mind. Snape didn't betray any emotions, but continued walking toward the Room of Requirement.

"You know what? It's a good thing that I told him that I wasn't going to ever talk to him again. This way, he doesn't expect me to make small talk and I won't have to dodge him to keep our secret."

Snape nodded. "Indeed."

Quickly enough, the two arrived at a full Room of Requirement. Harry was shot back to the previous year when he and his friends were doing the DA, but this time, there was no sneaking around trying to avoid Umbridge. His friends were all talking, and didn't notice when he first arrived in the room. Looking around the room, Harry couldn't help but feel his heart constrict. A part of him was warmed by the thought that his friends were all here to help him, but the other part of him was torn up with worry. How could he let his friends put their lives on the line like this? Voldemort was sure to attack when he came, and the weight that was lifted from his shoulders early that morning when Snape agreed to help him, came back to rest in its familiar place just as heavy as before.

Harry's gaze was pulled to Remus, talking with the same unfamiliar man that had been beside him at the head table. He was about to ask Snape about it, when the man looked past Remus and straight at Harry. The man smiled and said something to Remus that made him turn toward Harry. He too smiled and beckoned Harry over.

"Hello, Harry, I want to introduce you to Professor Winchester," Remus greeted, when Harry reached him. "He is going to be my co-teacher this year."

Harry's heart sank. What about Sirius? Dumbledore said that _he_ could be Remus' co-teacher! After everything that man had done, he was going to take Sirius away from him as well? No!

"I don't think he realizes yet, Padfoot."

The name caught Harry's ear, and the one thing that could have cut through his frustration and fury was that name. Harry's bead snapped up and looked at Remus. "What?" he asked, but the only answer he got was Remus smirking and turning to the man next to him. "Sirius?" he asked quietly and hesitantly.

With a nod and a smile only Sirius could give, Harry's face broke out into a smile for the first time since he walked into the Great Hall earlier. "Don't _do _that!" he said, slapping Sirius on the arm. "That was not funny! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Sirius chuckled. "Well, I couldn't very well be myself with all of these kids around, could I?" he asked. "So Dumbledore decided that it was time for my disguise to start now, and allow the students to get used to me."

Harry could have literally jumped for joy he was so happy. "Fantastic!" Harry had to resist the urge to hug his Godfather. "What did you say your name was, again?"

"Winchester, Harry. Remember it, and use it. We don't want to get in trouble, now, do we?" Sirius asked with a wink.

Harry smiled, but couldn't help but hear the seriousness behind the words. If he slipped up, Sirius would be thrown back into Azkaban within a second. And Harry would not allow that to happen. So making sure to say the name multiple times in his head, he didn't feel extremely confident yet, but knew he would in time. Allowing this to be put to the side, he turned his attention to Moody, who was about to start their session.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! It's 30 minutes till and I wanted to get it up before Christmas, so here it is! …however, it is unbeta'd, so if there are any grammatical errors or parts that don't make too much sense, please forgive me. I hope you like where I'm going with this, and I hope to be done before the end of the school year this year. There are probably 7 – 10 more chapters left for this story, but that's just an estimate, so it could be shorter, but probably not longer. Thanks for being so patient! I hope you liked it, and please let me know! Reviews are lovely and much appreciated! They help an author with her confidence :-D.

Merry Christmas to all! And happy new year!

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for _**all**_ the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the **Messiah**, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" – Luke 2:8-12


	18. Let's Do This!

If things couldn't get any worse, he thought to himself, listening to Moody discuss what was going to happen in the coming week and a half, it just did. Moody was asking Harry to take back up his position as teacher of the DA and fill the students in on what they have been learning for the past few days.

_Fabulous._

As much as Harry enjoyed teaching his friends, and watching them master the spells, he did not want to add any more pressure onto himself for the next few days. He had to think about his meetings with Snape, trying to find time to translate the rest of the book and find the ritual Voldemort used to go against nature and make himself resistant, or immune, to the result of life – death, and when all of that was done, figure out a way to kill the evil wizard. Now he had to think about working with his friends and trying to get them to learn the spells that they had already been working on while trying to learn new spells… What was he going to do?

"But why are they joining us if they aren't going to be fighting?" Harry asked, his anger and frustration clearly evident in his voice. He saw Snape give him a surreptitious warning look.

"The same reason that you are getting trained and aren't going to be fighting," Moony said gently. "Because these are good things to know just in case."

Sighing, Harry didn't have much of a choice. However, he decided to help his friends, knowing that it would benefit them and allow them to be better protected. "Because you are going to be teaching the DA the spells you have learned so far, we will not be doing any new spells until you are all caught up," Moody said bluntly. Harry's heart fell. _You're kidding me?_ But seeing as how he had no say in the matter, he had to simply swallow his frustration and agree.

Harry was given the reigns and Remus told the group that the Order members had to go to a meeting and would see everyone after lunch. Snape gave him a look that, unfortunately, he couldn't completely identify. It looked to be a cross between caution and encouragement, which allowed Harry to calm himself. He didn't need to take out his frustration on his friends. After the adults' exited, all eyes turned to the Gryffindor in charge. Deciding to pick up after the Imperious curse, Harry dove straight into the "protego gravis" shield that Dumbledore had taught them that first day.

After giving instructions, Harry had everyone partner up and practice the spell with Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and himself going around the groups to assist in any confusion. Neville needed a little more instruction, and thankfully Parvati was a patient partner. Inserting instructions here and there into the different partners, Harry found his friends grasping the spell quickly and were doing a great job.

Walking around the pairs of his friends and watching as they defended against their partner's attack, even while he was still upset that his friends were here at all, Harry couldn't help but be proud as he saw the progress that his friends were making at an advanced spell. After a while, even Neville was finally defending himself spectacularly against Parvati.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Harry decided to move on to other spells. Asking Hermione to assist, the group was split in two to try to make it more manageable and allow the process to go quicker, with Ginny assisting him and Ron assisting Hermione.

Sure enough, they were working through the hours quite nicely. Harry had taught his friends three new spells and they were currently working on mastering them before he moved them onto something else. Before the DA could master all the spells, they were interrupted by Remus, who came to get them for lunch.

Walking down to the Great Hall, Harry finally allowed himself to relax and just be a kid for a few minutes before returning to his "teacher and worrier mode". The topic that was most discussed was how everyone's summer had been going. Dean and Seamus had gotten together and Dean had taught Seamus the game of soccer, which Seamus grew to like. Neville had gotten a new wand, since his dad's had broken during the Department of Mysteries fiasco the previous month.

When asked about his, Harry was silent. Looking back on his summer it had started out completely and absolutely awful. He lost Sirius and thought he would never see him again. He spent three weeks in a deep depression and was rescued by Remus who took him to Grimmuald Place to find out that Sirius was actually alive! The joy, mixed with the betrayal of the Headmaster, made for a bittersweet few days, but the happiness that he felt with Sirius back was more than anything he could shadow it with. Then they had to flee to Hogwarts when Voldemort found out about the Order's location. To where Harry rescued and became "friends" with Snape and was now working with him, secretly, to defeat Voldemort.

Thinking about all this, Harry didn't think he could tell his friends this, so he stuck to, "Oh, just the same old, same old." He was thankful that they let it drop at that and didn't try to pry further. Looking up at the Head Table, it was evident how much had changed in a few short weeks. Sirius, as Winchester, was chatting animatedly with Remus, Dumbledore was absent, and Snape had locked eyes with Harry. Shaken out of his reverie, Harry smiled slightly and turned back to his plate, his thoughts still everywhere at once.

"_Everything all right?"_

Harry was startled at Snape's concerned question. Not wanting to make his friends suspicious, he kept his eyes on his plate. _"Yeah. I'm fine."_

Doubt filled his mind, and he knew Snape didn't believe him. _"Uh huh. Sure."_

"_Just thinking is all, professor."_

"_About?"_

Harry tried not to think about all of the things he was trying to block from his memory. The time at Privet Drive, Sirius, the impending battle at Hogwarts…but apparently he was not successful.

"_Your friends do not know all that has happened. They simply want to exchange formalities. Why don't you go back to the Room and take some time to yourself and get ready for the second half of training?"_

Harry couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. _"That sounds great. Thanks."_

He could practically hear the nod that Snape gave before he was gone. Taking a deep breath, he informed his friends of his departure and for the reason. "Take your time, I'm going to go get things ready for the next few sessions." Walking out of the Great Hall, Harry made his mind leave the worry of what was to come and focus on the now. What would he teach next? And how? These were his thoughts as he climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

After his friends mastered the spells in the second half of training, Harry and his friends had spent some time outside; getting out of the castle that had begun to feel too small. However, not long after they got outside, Harry left the group and went back to the Common Room to sit in front of the fireplace and continue to try to find the elusive ritual that Voldemort had used. And that's where he was now.

Tired of looking at the swirls and loops that made up the Parseltongue script, Harry roughly closed the book and let it slide off his legs and onto the cushion next to him on the couch. His head in his hands, Harry couldn't help but feel the weight on his shoulders get a bit heavier as he saw the end of one more day. One more day closer to when Voldemort would try to storm the castle and kill him and Snape.

Speaking of Snape…

Harry looked up at the clock, and saw that it was fifteen till 9. The time had gotten away from him, and looking around the room, Harry saw that his friends were talking together at the table. Looking back at the fire, he waited another minute or so, as to not be suspicious, and slowly rose out of the chair and walked to the portrait and, surprisingly, got out of the common room without getting stopped. Only when he was outside the Common Room did he take his sigh of relief. Knowing that he had to get down to the dungeons in less than fifteen minutes, he had to find the happy marriage of walking fast and walking as if he was just taking some time to himself. If he was caught out of the tower now, it would only lead to questions, and he wanted to be able to say he was just walking, with no destination in mind.

As he walked toward the dungeons, Harry couldn't help but wondering how they would practice the spell. It's not like they could practice it on each other until they got it right. But he was sure Snape would have a plan. And what if Dumbledore decided to join their party? How would he leave quickly without being seen? And how would they know he was coming?

Speaking of Dumbledore, Harry wanted to make sure no one was going to be dropping in on him unexpectedly, so he summoned the map as he walked. When the parchment was in his hands, he revealed the map and saw, with a sigh of relief, that no one was roaming the corridors. Sirius and Remus were in a room, Snape was in his office waiting for him, and Dumbledore was safely in his own office, away from Harry and Snape. If only he could look at the map the entire time, he would know when the man was going to make a surprise entrance.

As he looked at the map, an idea was forming in his mind, but he wasn't sure how to actually do it. What if he could charm the Marauder's Map to alarm when Dumbledore was getting close to the dungeons? That would take care of Dumbledore just popping in on them when they weren't expecting.

Excited at the hope that it was possible, Harry made his way down to the dungeons a little quicker than would have been wise, except that he knew that no one was going to stumble upon him. The door to Snape's classroom and office came into view and he slowed down before knocking when he made it to the door right on time.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, Harry saw Snape working at his desk and looked up when he entered the room. "Professor."

"Potter," he said, putting away whatever it was that he was working on before standing up to meet him.

"So what is the plan?" Harry asked, hoping the man had a better idea of what they had to do than he did.

Snape leaned against the front of his desk. "I've been thinking. We need to make sure that this spell will work. Obviously we cannot test it on each other to make sure we have it right. I am assuming, that when you do the spell, that it will not take away your magic as well. So we will practice the spell once, and only once when we are sure that we understand how to preform it and what to say. Until then, we will be using these," he said, as he took out two long sticks. It looked like he had grabbed them from a tree on the grounds. "And for safety, I will put our wands away. Just in case."

Harry agreed. They didn't need anything going wrong and then they be left, in essence, a Muggle. Snape extended his hand for Harry's wand, and Harry was slightly surprised at how willingly he gave up his only form of defense. They had come a _long_ way, that's for sure.

Snape walked back around to his desk and opened one of the drawers and placed his and Harry's wands inside before shutting it tightly.

"Now, before we get started on this spell, I need to ask you if you have found anything in that book that would be all right to practice; anything that would not do severe harm or cause lasting damage to us?" Harry wondered why he wanted to know, and voiced his question. "Because we need to know that you have translated the book correctly. If we go through all of this, only to find out at the last moment that there was something wrong in the translation, we would loose. I am not willing to take that chance."

Harry completely understood, and it made a lot of sense. Thinking back on some of the spells that he could remember, he knew that there were indeed some that they could practice. After reading some of the more horrific spells and rituals, he made sure that they were not what he was looking for and then tried his best to forget everything that he had read. He relayed this to the man, who nodded his head.

"Very well. If you would please find a spell that we could practice within the next few days, that would be very helpful." After agreeing to find a suitable spell, they dove into the spell for the next hour.

Ending the morning session, Harry couldn't help but feel the constant pressure of the world on his shoulders get a little bit heavier. His friends were having a lot of trouble with the spell they were learning and everyone was getting frustrated, so Harry had called a halt to the class and voted for an early lunch before trying again.

As he was walking, Harry was finalizing the plans in his head that he had started the previous night. He needed a way to make the map into an alarm to let him know if Dumbledore came near his and Snape's evening sessions. If the Headmaster dropped in on them unexpectedly, they would be in more trouble than the Weasley twins with their mother after a prank gone wrong.

At the risk of damaging the map, Harry didn't want to try to find a charm and try it out. So he decided that the best thing he could do, was to ask the original map-makers themselves.

Deciding to act now, Harry told his friends to go down without him and he and the group parted ways. Harry would have asked someone where Remus' quarters were, but he realized that he could find out without asking anyone. Glad he brought the Map along to give the Marauders in hopes that they knew something that could help him, he quickly located Remus and Sirius, who were in rooms right next to each other.

"_Figures," _Harry thought with a smile, walking toward the place on the map. It made sense that they would be close to each other. He was trying to decide which Marauder to talk to. The last time he had seen Sirius, he had blown up at him and had spilled the beans about Snape. Harry wasn't sure if the Marauder even wanted to see him now that he had made friends will Snape.

Deciding to try Remus, Harry turned the corner to where his quarters were and almost ran headfirst into Sirius.

"Sirius," Harry said in surprise, taking a few steps back.

"Harry," Sirius replied, equally surprised. "How are you?" he asked.

Harry was surprised to hear the uncertainty in his Godfather's question. "I'm good. And you?"

"All right, I guess. What are you doing down here?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Well, I was looking for you and Remus, actually," Harry explained, fudging the truth a little.

"Oh yeah? Well, Remus is still in his room. Come on," Sirius turned around and Harry followed closely behind.

"Oh, and I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that," Sirius said stiffly. Harry knew that it had to have been hard for him, not to mention the lashing he must have gotten from Dumbledore.

"It's all right, Sirius. I know you were upset," and Harry left it at that. Even though there was more that could be said, he didn't want to upset his Godfather anymore. And they let the subject end with that.

"Mischief managed."

Harry and Sirius shared a smile as they made their way into the portrait hole. "Moony, you have a visitor!"

Harry smiled and watched Remus poke his head out of a door to the right of, what Harry could only describe as their 'common room'. "Hey, Harry. How are you?"

"I'm good," Harry smiled. "I have a question for you."

"Sure thing, what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering, is there a way to put a charm on the Map that would alarm if someone I specified got close to where I was?"

Remus gave Harry a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Let's say, for example, that Ginny and I got into a fight and I was avoiding her. Could I charm the Map to set off an alarm if she got close to my location, so that I could look at the map and then see if she was coming to where I was so I could escape?"

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I'm sure there's something we can use. You'll have to give me a few hours to look it up, but I'm sure there's a way."

"Really?" Harry asked, surprised that his idea would actually work.

"Yeah, do you have the Map on you?" he asked. Harry could practically see the wheels in Remus' mind spinning through his eyes.

"Yeah," Harry said, chuckling. Grabbing the Map from his pocket, he was about to give it to Remus when he saw the look that Sirius had on his face. It was a fond, longing, sort of look. As if he was going back in time to a happier moment. "Sirius?"

"Hm?" Sirius looked up and smiled. "Sorry, I'm fine."

Harry connected the dots. "You haven't seen the Map recently, have you?"

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "No. I haven't seen it in years."

Making up his mind, Harry handed over the Map to one of its creators. Sirius smiled. "Wow. Brings back a lot of memories, this map."

"We had a great time making it," Remus said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"That we did."

"How did Fred and George get a hold of it? Did you guys loose it or give it to someone?" Harry asked, curious as to how such a treasured possession of the Marauders got into the possession of the Weasley twins.

"No, we didn't loose it," Remus answered. "We hid it." At Harry's horrified and confused look, he explained. "Our last year, we knew we wouldn't need the map after we graduated, so we decided to hand it down to the next generation of mischief makers. We hid it in the Room of Requirement. One of our favorite places in the whole castle, minus the Tower, of course. The only way someone would be able to find it is if they realized what the room was, and figured out how to get into it. If they accidentally found the room, they wouldn't be able to get it. Only if they knew how to access it, would they find the map. And it seems that Fred and George were the first ones to really understand the room after us."

Harry shook his head. "Wow. How ironic, that the Map would find it's way into the hands of the best pranksters in the History of Hogwarts after the Marauders."

Sirius and Remus both smiled. "Funny how that happens, isn't it?" Sirius commented, finally handing the Map over to Remus.

"Give me a few hours with it, and I'll see what I can do. Either way, I'll get it to you before dinner."

"Thanks, Remus."

Hey guys! I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I've been busy trying to get my kids ready for the FCAT (the stupid test Florida makes the kids take) that I've not been able to work on it. Not to mention the trouble I've had trying to decide what to do with some of the parts of this chapter!

The school year is winding down and I hope to be able to write more, however that's not something I can promise. I hope you like it, and please review! I would love to hear what you think!


	19. Modifying The Plan

Hey guys, I'm so sorry about the long wait, but I am now a first grade teacher and it is taking up a lot of my time and energy unfortunately. I don't have much of a life anymore, let alone time to write. I hope you enjoy this. The next chapter is already in the works, however, I do not know when it will be done. Thanks to Nita for betaing this chapter for me! Now, on to the chapter!

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry had just finished his third training session with Professor Snape and they had been able to determine that he had indeed translated the spell properly. They used a strong disinfecting spell that he had found in the book on some of the cauldrons that were available and it worked wonders. With a week left until Voldemort's visit to the castle, they almost had the wand movements to the spell and were getting ready to move onto actually "doing" the spell.

Now, he was on his way back to his dorm, map in hand to make sure he wouldn't be surprised by anyone. Remus had given it back to him the day before as promised before dinner and with the charm applied. All he had to do was program it to whomever he wanted the map to recognize.

"_To activate the alarm, all you have to do is say, 'Alarm to' and say the name of the person you want to make sure you can keep tabs on. If the person you specify gets too close, you should have about a minute warning before the person gets to you, you will hear an alarm. For example," Remus said, taking out his wand. "Alarm to Harry Potter." _

_As soon as Remus had finished the command, the map emitted a beeping sound that reminded Harry of Aunt Petunia's microwave, just slightly lower in volume. Not too obnoxious, but loud enough that Harry would certainly be able to hear it if it was in the same room._

"_To turn it off just tap the map with your wand," Remus said, modeling it to Harry. As soon as his wand touched the parchment, the beeping stopped._

"_Cool," Harry breathed, excitement rushing through him as he realized that he wouldn't have to worry about Dumbledore anymore. "I love magic!"_

After Remus' explanation, Harry found an empty classroom and engaged the charm to set off when Dumbledore got too close. Thankfully, the map had been quiet throughout his and Snape's session. And he hoped it stayed that way until after the battle.

As he got closer to his dorm, he wished he could take a few minutes and work on another spell out of the book. It wouldn't take very long…but he quickly remembered the promise he made Snape. If he didn't keep it, Snape would stop helping him. Sighing, Harry said the password and climbed back into the common room.

Thankful that no one was present, Harry made his way toward the stairs to get ready for bed.

"Harry."

Spinning around, his eyes found Hermione. And she had that look in her eye when she wanted to find out something and was willing to search the entire library looking for it. He was in trouble.

"Hermione," Harry said, keeping the surprise out of his voice and hoping that he could make a quick escape, thankful that he had already planned for this.

"This is the third night you've been out late. What's going on?"

Sighing realistically, Harry said, "Nothing. I just needed some time to myself is all. With everything that goes on during the day I don't have time to just be alone. I'm just trying not go crazy, Hermione. And this time works for me."

Hermione didn't seem to want to believe him, but after his "confession" he saw the determination in her eyes falter. _Yes!_ "All right. You could have just said something, you know," she said with a small smile.

He returned it. "I didn't want to bother anyone."

Hermione understood. She gave him a quick hug as they took their separate ways to their rooms. Harry only allowed himself a deep sigh of relief once he was in his four poster bed with the curtains drawn. He was definitely ready for bed….

If sleep would ever come.

Harry looked over at the alarm clock and saw that it was 2am. _Great…_ he thought bitterly. Another night of very little sleep. The previous two nights he had not slept as soundly as he would like. Either he would wake up every few hours, or it would take him forever to go to sleep, running through all the thoughts in his head. And when he did go to sleep, it wasn't a restful night like he had been enjoying before all the chaos.

Deciding to try a change in venue, Harry quietly got out of bed and went down to the common room. Sitting in front of the fireplace in his favorite armchair, Harry tried to stem the thoughts that were running through his head:

What would happen when Voldemort got to Hogwarts? How would he get away from Dumbledore and the others to fight? Would everyone be okay? Would he win? Would he loose?

Harry felt the common room start to close in on him. Spotting the window he quickly made his way over to it and threw it open, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. Sitting on the bench in front of the window, Harry couldn't help but look out on the grounds and wonder how different it would be in a week.

The pressure on his chest felt that much heavier when he realized how much more there was to do before Voldemort _arrived_. Harry felt as if the same questions and concerns were being placed on a continuous loop, never ending and never allowing him a moment's peace. The only time he didn't feel the constant pressure was when he was doing something productive. And the only activities he felt were productive were his nightly sessions with Snape and when he was translating the book.

His frustration came, mostly, from the wasteful hours in the Room of Requirement where they learned only defense – no offense. Knowing he would be battling not only Voldemort, but Death Eaters as well, made Harry desperate for something to fight with. Maybe once they knew the "Magic Sucking Spell" Snape would be willing to teach him some.

Leaning against the wall, Harry's eyes began to drift close, knowing he would be able to talk to Snape later that day.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP-

Pulling himself out of bed, Harry made his way sluggishly to the bathroom. He had woken against the window when the sun poked its head over the horizon. Knowing he would be questioned if he remained, he had managed to make it back to his bed before collapsing into it. A few hours later and he was now, somewhat, awake for the day. _I can't keep doing this_, he thought, frustrated.

"You all right, Harry?" Ron asked as they descended the stairs into the common room.

"I'm fine."

"You look like hell, mate."

"I'm fine," Harry told him again, with an edge to his voice and a warning to leave him alone.

Ron seemed to get the message and let Harry go on ahead of him. Hoping to get in a better mood, Harry made a beeline for the Owlry. He hadn't been by to see Hedwig for a while and he was starting to miss her.

Opening the door, he spotted her almost immediately. "Hedwig!" She soared down from her high perch and landed on his shoulder, nipping his ear affectionately. He spent quite some time with her, telling her all about what was happening, and she seemed to be listening intently, before realizing he was going to be late for their first session of the day if he didn't leave now.

"This is stupid! I don't want to go! Now I'm tired _and_ hungry," Harry said, his frustration evident in his voice. Hedwig took off, obviously startled by his outburst. "I'm sorry, girl, it's not your fault." Hedwig made a circle above him before perching herself on the window sill in front of him, giving him a look that he swore said, "It's okay."

"I've got to go, I'll come see you later." Giving her one last stroke, Harry turned around and made his way to the first class of the day.

He had hoped that going to see Hedwig would have made him feel better, and it did…until he got to the door to the Room of Requirement. His frustration starting to bubble once again.

The session started the same as the ones before it – they practiced the spells they already knew before moving onto a new spell. Harry grasped the spell quickly, the only one to learn it almost as quickly was Hermione. Now, Harry was roaming through his friends and trying not to say anything, knowing he would be sharp if he did. Apparently, someone finally noticed.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a concerned Remus. "Harry, are you all right? You seem distracted."

"Distracted isn't the term I would use," he whispered tersely, turning away. Remus took his hand from Harry's shoulder. "Just leave me alone."

Unlike Ron earlier that morning, Remus didn't take the warning. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry clamped his jaw tight and tried to take a deep breath. But the frustrations from the past week that he had been trying to keep inside were starting to bubble to the point of threatening to boil over.

Remus physically turned Harry around and found a fuming teen. "Drop it, Remus," he said a little more loudly than he expected.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked, confusion lacing his words.

He felt a sense of déjà vu occur at his adopted godfather's words. The last time someone asked him that he had reamed out the Headmaster and Professor Snape. That was not something he wanted to do again, but seemed to be a growing pattern as of late.

"Just drop it, Remus," Harry said, trying to turn around again. However, the man would not allow him to go.

"Harry, what is going on? You have been irritable and quick to snap at people the past few days. If distracted isn't the term you would use, what _would_ you call what you are right now?"

Harry had never heard Remus be so blunt and harsh with his words as he had that moment. He felt his stomach tighten at his words, feeling ridiculous that he was being so rude to Remus, but Harry was so exasperated that he couldn't even allow that to stem the flow of his words. "Frustrated. Upset. Angry. Whatever synonym you would like to use for any of those words, I'm sure they would suffice."

"Why? I don't understand why you would be this upset. We're doing what _you_ asked us to do, Harry."

"No you're not!" Harry yelled, taking a step back, and oblivious to the fact that everyone in the room was now staring at him with concern. "All you're doing is teaching us defense spells. You're not doing anything about offensive spells! How are these spells going to help me defeat, or protect me from, Voldemort or his Death Eaters when I haven't learned a single attacking spell from you in a week?

"This is driving me mad, Remus! I can't stand it. Learning only defensive spells when I could be doing something much more productive with my time. If it were _my_ class, then I would be running this a little differently. For one, I would be having everyone learn offensive AND defensive spells. Doing one without the other makes no sense. There's no balance in it. Doing defense, and only defense, and knowing that we will be doing nothing _but_ defense for the next week is driving me insane! I can't do this anymore!"

His tirade was far from over, but Harry realized what he had just said. _I shouldn't have to do this anymore,_ he thought, angrily. _Wait…I don't have to._ Harry smiled. "I don't have to."

"What?" Remus was obviously still stunned by the surprise of Harry's blow up.

He laughed lightly. "I don't have to do this anymore. I'm done." He started walking to the door, his shoulders feeling slightly lighter, knowing he would have all day to translate that book and learn some other spells while he was at it.

"No you're not."

Harry was surprised at Remus' tone and how matter-of-factly he said it. "What?" he asked, turning around.

"You're not done here, Harry. You need this training just as much as your friends do."

"Uh, I would agree with you on that, but I think I'm okay to be done for now and do something else on my own. I. Am. Done here."

Turning around once more, Harry couldn't help but feel as if he was arguing with his father. At least it felt like what he would imagine arguing with his father would be like.

"No. You're. Not."

"Yes! I! Am," he threw over his shoulder. Harry continued walking with determination to the door. However, the next words out of his godfather's mouth made him stop cold.

"If you leave, you will not join us."

Harry spun around, panicked. "You wouldn't."

"Oh yes I would," Remus said, stepping toward the volatile teen. "I'll talk to Dumbledore and you will not be allowed to stand next to your friends when Voldemort arrives. You would not be as prepared as your friends and I won't allow any harm to come to you."

Harry stared at him for a moment. Then he laughed. Not only did he laugh, he laughed hysterically. "Oh wow, that's rich. I wouldn't be 'as prepared as my friends'?" he turned to the group. "Um, which one of you has fought Voldemort face to face?" he asked, rhetorically, his own hand raised. He waited a moment, looking around for he hands he knew would never rise with his own. "I think that means I'm more prepared than any of them. So I think I should get a free pass on this."

"You think you're done, just because you've faced Voldemort a few times? You're sadly mistaken, my boy."

"No. I don't think I'm done, but I think that I'm done with this wasteful use of my time. Am I learning something? Yes. Am I learning something that I could use to defeat Voldemort with? No. Is this a _complete_ waste of my time?" he paused, rational thought kicking in. "No. If Voldemort wasn't arriving in just one week, I would be happy to continue with these sessions. But seeing as how he _will_ be here in one week, and I have a massive book to translate, I can see a lot better use of my time than to sit here after I've mastered a spell in five minutes and wait a half hour for the rest of my friends to master it. No offense, of course," he said, quickly, turning to his friends in apology. "But I'm done. And you will not keep me from my place outside the school next week. If you think you can, try and stop me."

Harry made the last few steps to the door and made a quick, and dramatic, exit, slamming the door as he left. If it were possible, Harry was sure steam would have been spouting from his ears. He was _furious._ How dare Remus try to keep him from fighting? How dare he ruin all the plans and effort he and Snape were doing? He wasn't so far gone to not realize that Remus just wanted him safe. But what he didn't know was that he was trying to make _Remus_ safe, by killing Voldemort once and for all.

The castle was seeming all too small at the moment. Knowing that Sirius and Remus were both in the room with his friends, he knew they would not bother him for a while. They had just started the training less than an hour ago. They wouldn't end the session to look for him, knowing that Voldemort was arriving in only seven days. However, he couldn't think of anywhere he could go without someone coming to bother him. Anywhere he went inside the castle Dumbledore would find him, and Snape knew about his place by the lake, and he didn't even want the company of the Potion's Master right now.

_I wish I could leave Hogwarts, just for a few moments, to try to get my head back on straight. _But he knew he couldn't. It wouldn't be safe, and would be downright stupid for him to step outside the grounds of Hogwarts. If only there was a safe place that no one would be able to find him for a while – a safe room, even.

Harry stopped cold. There was a safe room! Changing his direction, Harry ran toward the only place he could think of that he could get there: Sirius' quarters. "Mischief managed." The portrait opened and Harry quickly entered. Looking around, Harry found exactly what he was looking for. Making up his mind, he summoned a quill and parchment and jotted down a quick note.

_Sirius, I need some time to clear my head. Then I remembered where I could go that was safe and where I could take the time I needed. I don't know if I ever said thanks, but, thanks._

_Harry._

Leaving it in plain sight, Harry quickly walked over to the fireplace, took a pinch of the floo powder, and stepped into the hearth. "Number twelve, Grimmuald Place."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry started to come back to consciousness. Man, that was a great nap! He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but he felt more rested than he had in days. He felt great! Knowing that he was going to be undisturbed and that he was away from his stress for just a little while, Harry was able to pass out moments after he laid down.

Of course, it had taken him a good half hour to try to remember and guess at the secret code to get the door open, forget about actually locking it. He watched Sirius unlock the door, but never saw him actually lock it. But, that didn't matter, he wasn't trying to hide forever. He knew someone would find him eventually. So, he curled up on the couch, too tired to get anything else, and went to sleep. It had been wonderful.

Until he realized why he had awakened in the first place.

"Harry?"

_Sirius!_ Harry's eyes flew open and he spotted his Godfather looking down at him with a smirk and a questioning look. "Welcome back. I didn't think you'd ever wake up."

Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Huh?" he asked unintelligently.

Sirius chuckled. "I've been trying to raise you for a good minute. I was just about to give up and dump some water on you."

Suddenly glad that he had woken when he had, Harry smiled. "Well, I'm glad you didn't have to resort to that." Sirius smiled as well, but then turned serious. "So, how much trouble am I in?"

"I don't know. Right now, none."

"Really?" Harry asked, stunned. "I figured I'd be dead and buried before Voldemort even got to the castle for leaving the grounds, even if it was to Grimmuald Place."

"Well, so far, I'm the only one who knows that you're gone."

Instead of feeling happy that he wasn't in too much trouble, Harry felt his stomach bottom out. No one noticed he was gone. "Really?"

"Yeah, everyone went down to lunch, thinking you'd be there. But when I didn't see you, I knew you were hiding somewhere, taking some time to yourself. But I couldn't find you, so I went back to my quarters and found your note. I knew exactly where you had gone, so I came to get you before anyone else noticed you were gone so you didn't get into any, or too much, trouble."

Harry felt a pitty party coming on. He knew his friends cared for him, but why didn't anyone realize he was gone? _But someone did notice,_ a voice inside his head said quietly. Sirius. "Thanks, Sirius."

Sirius smiled. "Well, why don't we head back to Hogwarts before Dumbledore finds out and you get into trouble?" Then he turned to walk out of the room.

"But you're not going to yell at me for yelling at Remus?"

Sirius sighed and turned around to face his godson. "Well, you shouldn't have yelled at Remus like you did, Harry. He was only trying to help. But I think I understand your frustration."

Harry could have hit himself. "Of course, you do," he said softly. "You would know better than anyone. You couldn't do anything last year. Dumbledore wouldn't let you. He just kept you stuck in this house and didn't let you help in any way. If anything I know _your_ frustrations, now."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. So I know what you mean when you say you're going mad just doing defense. I know you want to learn what you can to attack and defeat Voldemort, and just doing defense, when you know you can fight him, is making you constantly think about what can go wrong. Right?"

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding in agreement, happy to have another person who realized what he was going through. "I can't stand being in there learning those spells when I would rather be translating that book and learning other things that could be more helpful in case something were to go wrong."

"I know, Harry. I wish there was some way you could join us, and be safe, but Dumbledore has said no, so-"

"So what? Who died and made Dumbledore God?"

"Harry!"

"I'm sorry, Sirius. You know how I feel about Dumbledore, but he _is_ just a man, after all. He can, and has, made mistakes. He might be wrong about this."

Sirius obviously didn't want to continue the discussion the way that it was heading, so he turned around and started back toward the stairs. "I think we should get you back to Hogwarts."

Harry sighed. Knowing that the conversation was over, Harry followed his Godfather out and back to the drawing room.

"Now, to get back to Hogwarts, all you have to do is say 'Hogwarts' and the place you want to go. So we would be saying, 'Hogwarts, Winchester's Quarters' and it will take you back to my place."

Harry did as he was told and found himself back in Sirius' quarters. When Sirius came through the grate behind him, Harry asked him a question that had been on his mind since Sirius found him. "You won't tell anyone about this…will you?" Harry asked hesitantly. "Because if Dumbledore were to find out, he might not let me be with you guys when Voldemort gets here."

Sirius didn't answer right away. He seemed to be pondering his answer before he said anything. Turning around to face his godson, Sirius said, "How about this: I'll tell the Headmaster in eight days, how about that?"

Harry smiled, thankful to have such an awesome godfather. "Thanks, Sirius." He gave his godfather a hug.

"Well, it should be time for the next class, so we'd better get going," Sirius said, moving toward the door.

"Wait," he said, quickly. "Sirius, I'm not going back."

Surprisingly, Sirius seemed shocked. Hadn't his godfather been listening to what he had been saying? "What do you mean you're not going back? Harry, you need to learn these spells!"

"But it's making me crazy, Sirius. I can't keep doing it."

"Then how will you learn the spells? You need to learn them, if not for the sake of being better protected."

Harry sighed. He saw Sirius' point, he would like to learn the spells, but he couldn't stand to be in that room again. That's when a light bulb clicked on in his head. "But what if I could still learn them and not go to the sessions?"

Sirius seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

"I could still learn the spells. You could teach them to me."

Sirius didn't say anything at first, his confused look saying it all. However, the confusion turned to thoughtfulness, which then turned to happiness. "Yeah, I guess that would be all right. You will still be getting the spells but you won't have to be so stressed out."

"Yes," Harry said in relief, happy that something was working right for once.

"How about we meet at 8 in the Room of Requirement?" Sirius asked.

Uh oh. 8 o'clock. That was too close to his meeting with Snape at 9. He'd never make it on time. Now how to put it to his godfather so it didn't look suspicious.

"Hmm, how about right after dinner?" Harry asked after a burst of inspiration. "That way, when we're done, we can do the spells then have the rest of the night for whatever."

Sirius thought about it, and said, "Okay, that sounds good to me. Want to start tonight?"

Harry smiled, excited to be able to spend some quality time with his godfather and also learn the spells. "Yeah! Sounds great. Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem, kiddo. Well, I'd better go before I'm late and they wonder where I am. I'll see you after dinner." After the goodbyes, Sirius took out his wand and turned into Winchester. Harry could still see Sirius in the face of Winchester, but knew no one who didn't know him well would see it.

They exited the room and went their separate ways.


End file.
